Gossip Girl: The Next Generation
by theflamingfangirl
Summary: Henry Bass is all grown up with scandals of his own to worry about (of course his life is dramatic; he takes after mom and dad, after all). In the aftermath of a break up that polarizes Henry's friends, a new family moves to New York and changes everything. The Upper East Side has never been more dramatic, and the new Gossip Girl is loving it. Meet Manhattan's new elite. XOXO
1. Chapter 1

**_Welcome back Upper East Siders. _**

**_As you may know, the end of the summer has always held a special place in my heart. Another year brings new books, new clothes, and new drama. Though last year's troubles may have been forgiven and forgotten during time spent apart, tensions are certain to resurface among our favorite socialites once they are sharing the same city once again. After all, in the Upper East Side, there is no such thing as a clean slate. _**

**_Let's recap the gossip, shall we?_**

**_After her dramatic break up with Wesley Morgan at the end of the school year, Laurel Sinclair has been flying solo this summer. But as summer draws to a close, the Princess of Manhattan must return to face the city without her prince. One question lingers in all of our minds: how will school carry on without its alpha couple? _**

**_The Holbrooks and the Fairfields spent most of the break at their summer homes in the Hamptons. Rumor has it; Teddy spent his entire summer following Paige around like a puppy. It's not much of a rumor really, considering most of us could have guessed that on our own. You'd think, after eight years of rejection, poor Teddy might take a hint and move on. All I can say, is it must have been painful to watch your true love make out with other guys for two months, in a bikini, no less. You can look, T, but you can't touch. _**

**_And of course, Henry Bass has been hitting it off with the ladies of Cabo this summer, though he didn't stick with any one of them for long. While his friends worry about their failed romantic escapades, leave it to the king of the three-day-girlfriend to spend the warm months getting friendly with foreign women. It's comforting to know that some things never change. _**

**_But as always, I've saved the best info for last. An inside source tells me a new family has relocated from California to the Upper East Side. Delia Beaumont, a wealthy socialite who's made marriage her hobby, has moved across the country for a "new beginning" after her most recent divorce, bringing her two children in tow. Declan and Sloane will be soon be attending St. Jude's and Constance, respectively, as juniors alongside Henry, Laurel, and the rest of the group. It's impossible to tell how the twins will fit in among our favorite Manhattanites, but no matter what happens, this is bound to be interesting._**

**_It's clear that a year filled with secrets, lies, and scandal awaits us, and I promise to keep you updated on all of the juiciest and dirtiest details. Get ready, New Yorkers, because class is back in session. You know you love me. XOXO Gossip Girl._**

* * *

"King of the three-day-girlfriend," Wes commented, handing Henry his phone back. "That's a new one."

"I like it," Henry replied. "It has a nice ring to it, don't you think? It's better than 'Baby Bass' anyways. I hate that."

"Oh c'mon; your parents are Gossip Girl legends," Wes argued. "Your mom and dad were, like, the main focus of the original blog; it only makes sense the she'd pay a tribute."

"I know that; I've read Classic Gossip Girl, and I do _not_ want to think about my parents doing any of that stuff. I mean, they're my _parents_. It's just gross." Henry shuddered. "But anyways, I get that they were pretty exciting back in the day, but is it really necessary to say I'm related to 'the famous Chuck and Blair' in every other post?"

"But… you are related," Wes said.

Henry rolled his eyes. "A fine point, Wesley. I realize that my parents are, in fact, my parents, but I don't think that's my defining quality. There's been what, three Gossip Girls since Mom and Dad were newsworthy? I can't be taken seriously if all people see when they look at me is the son of powerful and influential people. Ideally, I'd like to be seen as powerful and successful myself, but at least I'd like to lose 'Baby Bass'. I'm not a child."

Wes looked out his window. "Well, simply considering that we've just pulled up to a high school, where you will be a student for another two years, I'd say that you are, by most standards, considered to be a child."

"Someone's feeling contrary," Henry said, pulling open the car door.

Wes followed Henry up the steps that led to the conjoined campuses of St. Jude's School for Boys and Constance Billard School for Girls. Wes was not thrilled about the beginning of the school year; he'd quite enjoyed the summer he'd spent holed up in his apartment and was not looking forward to nine long months of learning and homework and social politics. There was one thing in particular he dreaded the most; something he'd been dreading all summer. Henry noticed Wes glancing nervously over his shoulder and smirked. "What's the matter; are you afraid to see Laurel?"

"Of course I'm afraid of her," Wes agreed. "She's terrifying. Last time I saw her she threw a potted plant at my head."

"You did dump her." Henry pointed out. "Without warning. At her birthday party. In front of her friends and family. I may not be a relationship expert, but even I can tell that was a dick move."

Wes shifted uncomfortably. "I know I should have let her down easier, but it just… wasn't working, I guess. I don't know."

"See this is why I don't do long term relationships," Henry said. "It's too complicated. Hey; at least now that you're single I can take you to strip clubs and you won't get all uncomfortable."

"Um, hooray, I guess," Wes said.

* * *

"Oh my god, I am going to kill him."

"You're not going to kill anyone."

"No seriously, I'm going to stab that son of a bitch."

"Killing people is wrong, and you don't have time to worry about a murder charge." Paige patted her best friend on the arm. "Besides, we decided not to waste any of your thoughts and emotions on Wes. He's just a boy."

Laurel pouted. "But he dumped me."

"That was months ago," Paige reminded her. "I'm not saying you should have gotten all the way over it, but you need to focus on moving forward. On a similar note, Wes has been your friend since kindergarten. Do you think, maybe, you might consider forgiving him? You know it was really out of character for him to break up with you like that."

"You mean, you think I can get him back?" Laurel said, perking up.

"That's not even _close_ to what I'm saying," Paige said. "I think I'd prefer if you killed him. No; you definitely should _not_ get back together, ever, but I think you guys should try to be friends. You maintained friendship successfully for eight of the ten years you've know the kid, and I think you could go back to that place."

"This is probably your dream come true," Laurel grumbled. "You never liked us together anyways."

"I didn't," Paige agreed. "As I've told you many times, it was a really weird relationship. As cheesy as it sounds, there was no chemistry. At all. I mean, you guys _liked_ each other, but you didn't seem to_ love_ each other. I've known you guys for a long time and I love you both dearly, but you and Wes are _definitely_ better off as friends."

Laurel groaned in protest.

If anything, Laurel Sinclair was an idealist. She always expected things to work out on their own, and got easily upset when they didn't. Even when they were little, she'd been a dreamer; the petite, golden haired princess of her own personal fairy tale. With her sunny outlook and a heart the size of her head, Laurel tended to see the world as what she wanted it to be, rather than what it was; and that's why she needed Paige to look out for her. With her tall, slim figure and reddish hair, Paige had always been the sensible one, the level headed one. She was everything Laurel was not.

Laurel was outgoing. Paige was reserved.

Laurel was always in a hurry. Paige was neat and organized.

Laurel had her head in the clouds. Paige had her feet on the ground.

It shouldn't have worked, but somehow, they made a good team. If they hadn't become friends, it was likely they'd both be outsiders. Laurel was charming and sweet, but too spacey; and Paige understood the workings of people, but was too cautious to have navigated the school's social hierarchy by herself. Separate, they would have been lost, but together, they were unstoppable.

"Well I wish he didn't look so good, then." Laurel sighed. Paige turned to see Henry Bass climbing the stairs behind her and Wes Morgan trailing behind him. Henry looked like he always did: dark hair, strong jawline, cocky grin, and a perfectly pressed uniform. He looked a little bit tanner, but otherwise no change there. Wes, on the other hand, seemed to have gotten even taller over the summer and looked more mature. He'd grown in to himself; even his tousled blonde hair seemed to suit him better. Even though Paige would never ever consider dating him (the girl-code prohibited it, and she was also just… not attracted to him), she had to admit he looked great. Paige thought it was incredibly impolite to Laurel that he got hotter since they broke up.

Suddenly, Wes's face drained of all color; apparently he'd seen Laurel. It occurred to Paige that he'd probably been dreading the first day of school as much as Laurel had. They watched as Wes slowly made his way over to where the girls were standing. He looked like was going to pass out. "Um… hello. H-how was your summer?"

Laurel flipped her blonde curls over her shoulder. "Oh you know, just trying to pick up the pieces of my broken heart."

"Oh, right." Wes glanced around like he was ready to bolt. "Um, I'm really sorry about that. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings or anything."

"Well you fucked that up," Paige told him.

"I know I did. I didn't mean to be a jerk, I swear," Wes stammered. "I just didn't know how I was supposed to break up with you, and so I just said it, but I guess I did it wrong. I just… I'm sorry."

"Whatever," Laurel replied. She grabbed Paige by the hand. "C'mon Paige, we have better places to be."

"I'm sorry," Wes repeated, but they were already gone.

* * *

**_Spotted: conflict between the two ex-lovers. Nothing serious so far, but we all know friction is the first step to starting a fire. Let's just hope Golden Boy doesn't go up in flames. Oh Wes, apology not accepted._**


	2. Chapter 2

"That… could have gone better," Wes said, looking dazed. "I realize it was unrealistic to think she might have completely forgiven me, but a part of me still hoped."

"It could have gone much worse, though," Henry reminded. "She could have gone crazy and pushed you down the stairs, or she could have cried and made a scene. Frankly, the cold shoulder is a pretty decent reaction on Laurel's part."

"I guess you're right," Wes sighed. "But I just-"

A girl suddenly appeared behind him and grabbed his arm, cutting him off. "Hey guys, this is Constance and St. Jude's, right? I just want to make sure I'm at the correct prep school before I go to class or anything."

"Um, yeah; you're in the right place," Wes said, looking a bit surprised. "Constance is on the right and St. Jude's on the left."

The first thing Henry noticed about the girl was that she did not fit in. She was very pretty, dark-haired and long legged with big blue eyes; but her skirt was crooked, her blouse untucked, her tights ripped, her tie uneven, and her hair a tangled mess. She certainly didn't look like any of the other girls who walked by in polished, color-coordinated outifts. Henry raised an eyebrow. "Are you a student here?"

"Duh," the girl said, gesturing to her uniform. "Do you think I'd wear this get-up on purpose? I look fucking ridiculous."

"You certainly do," Henry agreed.

The girl eyed him suspiciously. "I'm Sloane, by the way."

"Oh right. Sloane Beaumont!" Wes said. "You're one of the twins from the blog post this morning, aren't you?"

"I'm from the what!?" Sloane backed away slowly. "Are you two creeps stalking me?"

"No, it was on Gossip Girl," Henry explained. "It's this blog that writes about all of our lives."

Sloane looked confused. "Who the hell runs this blog and how do they know me? I literally just got here three weeks ago."

"Well, we don't actually know who Gossip Girl is," Henry said. "It's kind of complicated. The _original _Gossip Girl was my step-uncle, Dan Humphrey. He created the blog back when my parents went to school here, but he stopped posting once their group of friends settled down. Everyone thought that was the end of Gossip Girl, but then a few years later, someone started posting again, about a new group of students. It turned out to be Melanie Bennet, who hacked the site when she was a sophomore and became the new Gossip Girl. Then nine months after _she_ stopped posting, another Gossip Girl popped up. Gossip Girl three was revealed to be Jane Fernandez, the nanny of two students, Pierce and Hannah Cabot. She actually held on to the blog for almost eight years because she focused on_ both_ of the kids she watched, so when Pierce graduated, she just moved on to Hannah. But eventually, those kids grew up too, and Jane gave up the blog. And then, near the end of eighth grade, the fourth Gossip Girl appeared, the Gossip Girl we have now. She mainly follows me, and Wes, and our friends, and we haven't the faintest idea of who it might be."

"So this Gossip Girl just posts stuff about your day to day activities?" Sloane asked. "Doesn't that get… boring?"

Wes shrugged. "It hasn't so far. I guess we lead pretty interesting lives. But it is pretty annoying to have a judge-y blogger broadcasting everything we do to the entire internet. I mean, it feels like I have no privacy. Gossip Girl knows all, sees all, and then writes it up into cleverly worded paragraphs and posts them on her blog."

"That's invasive and horrible!" Sloane said, grinning hugely. "How can I view this blog? It sounds wildly entertaining."

Henry grabbed her phone and started adjusting her settings. "I'm programming it so you get updated every time there's a Gossip Girl blast. Pretty much everybody at school does."

"Thanks, man," Sloane replied.

Wes looked around. "Wait... aren't you supposed to have a brother? Dylan or something?"

"Oh right, forgot about him for a second." Sloane turned around and started waving frantically a black town car parked about fifty feet away. "Declan was waiting in the car because he was convinced we were at the wrong school. That's why I came up and asked you in the first place."

A boy in a St Jude's uniform emerged from the car and bounded up the stairs to meet them. It was easy to tell that Declan and Sloane were twins. They were both tall and narrow and shared the same fair skin, wide blue eyes, and nearly black hair. Sloane grabbed her brother by the arm, pulling him in front of her. "Guys, this is Declan. Declan, these are two guys I just met, and I realize now I know neither of their names… Who are you two, again?"

"Wes Morgan and Henry Bass," Wes supplied.

"These are Wes Morgan and Henry Bass," Sloane announced.

Declan waved shyly. "Hi."

"Wait, should we be getting to class?" Sloane asked. "What time does school start?"

"You've got four and a half minutes," Henry responded, looking down at his watch. "So you should probably think about finding your classes."

"Right." Sloane pulled out her schedule. "Does anyone know where Mrs. Falkner's science class is?"

"It's the first door on the left of the Constance hall," Henry answered over his shoulder as he walked towards the school. "You can't miss it."

Sloane tilted her head and watched him go. "Well, thanks, I guess."

"Don't mind him," Wes reassured her. "He's always like that."

Declan looked up from his schedule. "Um, I've got AP Geography with Mr. Hanesly."

"Hey, I'm in that class!" Wes said. "I'll walk you down. No problem."

"Oh, thanks." Declan smiled for the first time since they'd met him.

"Alrighty then." Sloane grabbed her backpack and began towards the front door. "I'll see you two at lunch then. Later."

And with that, she walked through the double doors and began her new life at Constance Billard School for Girls. God help her.

* * *

**_And with that, the Beaumont twins have arrived in Manhattan. Declan seems nice enough, but Sloane is a whole different story. I can tell already that a bold, direct, and poorly dressed new girl will make a big splash here on the Upper East Side. For good or for bad, it's impossible to say, but she certainly isn't going to fade into the background. She's very pretty, Wes, do I sense a rebound on the horizon? What will Laurel say?_**


	3. Chapter 3

The moment the bell rang for lunch, Declan went outside to find Sloane, like he always did. He'd never say it to her face, but Sloane was his favorite person in the entire world. Maybe it was because they'd known each other for their entire lives, but Declan loved her more than anything. She was strong and spontaneous and funny and he could always count on her. Sometimes he counted on her a little too much. But like anyone, Sloane had her faults. One of them was never being_ anywhere_ on time.

"Hey, man." Wes from science class appeared suddenly behind him. "What's up?"

"Oh, um, hi," he managed to get out. Declan resumed frantically scanning the crowd for his sister. Declan had never been great in new situations and he tended to rely on Sloane to be the social one. She'd be thrilled that he was actually conversing with someone who wasn't her; Sloane was always going on about how he needed to branch out and make his own friends. Declan, on the other hand, had long since accepted his pathetic codependency and come to terms with a future of standing behind his sister and not speaking. So why the _hell _was this kid talking to him?

"Did you catch what the chem homework was?" Wes asked. "It was something about balancing equations, right?"

Declan tilted his head. "No… it's the first day of school, when would we have learned about balancing equations? We just had to get the course syllabus signed by a parent. You wrote it down, remember?"

"Oh, right." Wes laughed, a little uncomfortably.

At that moment, Sloane burst through the doors and into the school's courtyard, looking as disheveled and energized as usual. Declan breathed a sigh of relief; he had no clue what he would have said next if the conversation had continued. He probably wouldn't have said anything.

"Hiya guys," Sloane said. "Where are we sitting?"

Wes cocked his head. "Huh?"

"Lunch," Sloane repeated. "Where do you want to sit? Is that angry kid coming?"

Declan mentally smacked himself in the forehead. It was just like Sloane to invite herself to somebody else's lunch plan. Damn her.

Surprisingly enough, Wes looked pleased. "Okay. Well, I think it's just me and Henry over by those pillars, but you guys can join us if you want to."

"Sounds great." Sloane was already on her way over.

* * *

"What the hell are those two freaks doing here?" Henry asked Wes under his breath.

"I just… invited them to sit with us?" Wes said. "That's a thing that people do."

"We can hear you just fine from where we are sitting, two feet away," Sloane put in.

"Sorry," Wes apologized.

Henry just sighed and crossed his arms. "Whatever."

Sloane threw her stuff down on the steps and pulled a bag of chips, a jello, and a flask out of her backpack. Wes and Henry stared at her with such shock that Declan wanted to bury himself alive. Sloane liked to keep liquor on her at all times; partially just in case she got bored, but mostly to shock people so she could gauge their reactions. Now these guys were going to think Sloane was some crazy alcoholic. She wasn't an alcoholic. Just crazy.

"What's in that?" Henry asked.

"Whiskey," Sloane answered. "It's my mom's. Want some?"

Henry nodded approvingly and took the flask. "I like the way you think, Beaumont."

Wes looked over to Declan. "Do… you have a flask too?"

"I have a sandwich," Declan mumbled. "It's ham and cheese. Made it myself."

"You made your own lunch?" Wes asked incredulously. "Don't you have somebody to cook for you?"

"My mother doesn't like too many people around the house," Sloane replied. "So we just have a maid come in every day and clean for a few hours and then leave. So mostly it's just me and Declan at our place."

Henry grinned. "You have a lot of parties, then?"

"Planning on it," Sloane said.

"You're lucky," Henry said. "My parents are almost always around and they won't leave me alone. It's unbearable."

"Are you kidding me?" Wes protested. "I wish I had your family. It's huge and exciting and you have, like, a billion aunts and uncles."

"That must be cool," Declan commented. "My mom was an only child."

"So were both of my parents," Henry sighed. "I just have a lot of step-relatives. It's complicated."

"What does that even mean?"

Henry rolled his eyes. "As in my aunt Jenny is technically my father's ex step-step-sister; my uncle Andrew is my step-uncle in-law; and my cousin Violet is the child of my mother's best friend, Serena, who is also my father's adopted step-sister, and my father's ex step-step brother, Dan, who also happened to date my mother for a little while, so I don't even_ know_ what she is in relation to me."

"She's either your ex step-step cousin or your adopted step cousin," Wes said. "It depends on which of her parents your referring to."

"That _is_ complicated," Declan marveled.

Henry smirked. "You're telling me."

* * *

"Teddy's coming," Laurel said, looking over Paige's shoulder.

Paige groaned. She'd known Teddy Holbrook since she was two years old and their mothers hit it off at a yoga class and instantly became best friends. Since then, the Holbrook's and the Fairfax's had been virtually inseparable. When Paige was six, the two families decided to move into two apartments in the same building, as to avoid what had been a three minute drive between the old homes. They went on vacations together. They drove to school together. They ate dinner together at least twice a week. Paige had seen Teddy at some point during every _single_ day since she was three, excluding exactly four days of solitude due to contagious illness. Everything was shared between the two families. And of course, to make things even more difficult, he'd been in love with her since fourth grade. It wasn't that she didn't _like_ Teddy; he was like family, but she _definitely_ didn't want to date him. His hair always stuck up in the wrong direction, he had to wear glasses because he was allergic to contact lenses, and he was about as skinny as a pencil. Not so attractive.

"Hey Paige, hey Laurel," Teddy said. "How's your first day been going?"

"Fine," Paige shrugged, pushing around her salad with a fork. "Same old, same old."

Teddy nodded and turned to Laurel. "Hey, um, so I saw you talking to Wes this morning, and well, how are you doing?"

Laurel sighed dramatically. "My heart is still broken. He was my first love, you know."

"Hmm," Like Paige, Teddy didn't think Laurel and Wes were a good match. Unlike Paige, he didn't share his opinions with Laurel.

"But, somehow, life goes on," Laurel continued. "So this year I've decided to renounce the temptations of boys and focus on myself."

"Well good for you, Laurel." Teddy turned to Paige. "So are you also renoun-"

"I will still not date you," Paige interrupted, hardly looking up from her lunch.

Teddy shrugged amicably. "It's worth a shot."

"It really wasn't worth a shot. The answer will always and forever remain no."

"One day, you might change your mind," Teddy retorted.

"Nope," Paige said. "Don't think I will."

"You can't stop me from hoping," Teddy said, cheerful as ever.

"And so I will continue to strongly discourage you," Paige answered. "Now shoo; I'd like to eat my lunch in peace."

He saluted them and turned back towards the school. "See you after school, then."

"See ya, Teddy," Paige replied. His pathetic attempts to court her never affected their friendship. They had the routine down: Teddy would ask her out, Paige would reject him, and they'd carry on same as usual. Maybe it wasn't a normal relationship, but he was practically family, so she just kept putting up with it. Besides, it's not like there was any point in avoiding him; she'd have to see him anyways at dinner.


	4. Chapter 4

**_Spotted: Wesley Morgan lunching with the Beaumont's at Butters. In case you weren't counting, that makes six outings since the twins' arrival last week, two of which did not include Henry. I spy with my little eye, something going on between Golden Boy and his new-found best friends. Though, Wes seems to only have eyes for a certain dark-haired individual. Is love in the air, or is that just tension forming?_**

* * *

"Henry? Did something happen between you and Wes?"

"What?" Henry asked, walking into the kitchen and taking a muffin off the counter. "No, I don't think so, why?"

Blair held up his phone.

"Okay, first off, don't take my phone." Henry snatched his phone back and scanned the Gossip Girl blast. "Secondly, everything's fine between me and Wesley. He's just got this strange obsession with those new kids. I suppose Sloane is hot, in an alternative kind of way, but I have no idea why he won't just ask her out already."

"Well, six almost-dates is definitely a step in the right direction," Blair commented. She knew Wes had never been good with girls anyway; it had taken three years and plenty of convincing to coax him to ask out Laurel. She'd never understood why Wes and Laurel hadn't worked out. They were great friends; it should have been perfect, but it wasn't. At least he was branching out, now.

"He must really like her, though, because he still won't come to strip clubs with me." Henry froze. "Not that I go to strip clubs, that is. What even is a strip club? I wouldn't know… Um, I love you mom."

"We do get your credit card bills, you know." Chuck walked into the kitchen and sat down next to Blair. "I am the one paying for the alcohol, and strip clubs, and god knows what else. We decided to wait until you do something stupid to intervene."

"Oh," Henry nodded. "Good to know."

"Son, as I've gotten older I've realized that I should focus on my own affairs," Chuck told him. "You have your business, and I have mine."

Blair snorted. "As you've gotten older? You're thirty-eight."

"Mentally, though," Chuck argued. "We have a sixteen year old son, we're approaching our eighteenth wedding anniversary, and we've both been running successful businesses for years. Don't you feel much older and wiser than thirty-eight years? Fifty-five, at least."

"Just because we got a head start on our lives doesn't mean we need to age prematurely," Blair scoffed. "I hope I don't look fifty-five to you."

"If I was a random passerby, I'd think you were twenty," Chuck told her, "but as I am not a random passerby, I know that you're even more beautiful now then you were back when you _were _twenty years old. Actually, judging by how you've aged so far, I_ wish_ you looked fifty-five because by that point you will surely look even more spectacular than you do now."

Then he kissed her.

And he kept on kissing her.

"No!" Henry shouted, clapping a hand over his eyes. "Nope, we agreed you guys would contain your romantic encounters to within your own room and keep it PG in the rest of the house. You signed a contract; it is framed on the wall. It's disgusting and I do not want to be present. Nobody else's parents do it as much as you two; none of the other kids have to worry about _their _mom and dad getting it on in the kitchen. God, you're like_ bunnies_."

"You have to leave for school anyways," Blair commented. "You should probably get a move on, don't you think?"

"I'm gone," Henry called on his way out the door.

"He reminds me of you," Blair said once Henry was gone. "And of me. It's kind of scary, actually. It's like he's what would happen if you and I-"

"-got married and had a baby?" Chuck asked with a smirk.

"Well, yes," Blair admitted. "But it's still weird how alike he is to both of us. He's got my ambition and your edge."

"An uptight over achiever like you and a womanizing asshole like me."

Blair nodded. "And of course he can be manipulative, scheming, and vengeful when he needs to be, which I guess he got from both of us."

"He also inherited our class and good taste," Chuck pointed out.

"That kid's going places," Blair said proudly.

"Our genes combined beautifully."

While both Chuck and Blair were very proud of their accomplishments in the business world, Henry was their pride and joy. He was all of their best qualities wrapped up into one person. He got good grades, he rarely wore anything other than a suit, and he knew how to work the system. At the age of eight, Henry had used bribery and vaguely worded threats to drive his teacher, not only out of his school, but out of the state of New York. When the principal told her the news, Blair had never felt so proud of their young mastermind.

"Oh, Henry said Wes is probably staying over this weekend," Blair said. "He was supposed to tell you himself, but I'm going out on a limb and saying he forgot."

Chuck frowned. "Really, again? He was over here last weekend too. Are his parents away again?"

Blair shrugged. "No, I think they're_ still_ away. Somewhere in Eastern Asia, I think."

"His parents don't give a shit about him."

"I know," Blair sighed. "That's why we have to."

Wes had been staying over at least once a week since he was eight. After years of sticking him on the couch, Blair finally caved in and officially gave Wes the guest bedroom. His mother and father were rarely home, and when they were they either yelled at him or ignored him. So Wes slept over at the Bass's place. He was always really apologetic about it, but nobody ever minded him; he was a lot more chatty then Henry and insisted on cleaning everything. For all practical purposes, they'd already adopted him.

"Wait a second," Blair said. "Why are we talking about the kids? Henry's gone, and my clothes are still on. Why is that."

"Right. Less talking, more sex," Chuck agreed, picking up where they'd left off earlier.

* * *

**_When two people get married and have a child at the age of twenty-three, one might worry that romance would fall through the cracks. Clearly that's not an issue in the Bass household, much to poor Henry's dismay. Hey, at least they're keeping the marriage alive._**


	5. Chapter 5

"For god's sake Sloane," Declan called up the stairs. "We are going to be late! Again!"

"Yeah, yeah. I'm coming," Sloane replied, yanking on her sneaker. She hated to admit that without her brother, she'd probably show up an hour late to everything. She just wasn't a punctual person.

"Come on," Declan whined. "We're supposed to be there at seven, and it's already six fifty-two."

Sloane flew down the stairs and into the elevator, punching the button that would take them to the lobby. "So, what you mean to say is that we aren't even late?"

"No, we are late," Declan corrected. "The party started at six thirty, but Wes told us to be fashionably late and come at seven. The Bass' place is at least ten minutes away, and there will inevitably be traffic. Why can't you just be on time? We're going to make a terrible first impression and never get invited anywhere ever again."

"Stop worrying; it's a casual dinner invitation. It's not like we're meeting the President."

"Oh you're right, it's just some of the wealthiest and most powerful people in the city," Declan answered. "No biggie."

The doors opened in the lobby and Sloane rolled her eyes. "Spare me the dramatics. It's the parents of a kid from school and some of their friends. You're acting like we're crashing the party; we were invited. Over text. It can't be _that _big of a deal."

"According to Wes, these friends include a senator, a successful author _and_ screenwriter, and the former mayor. Not to mention Henry's mom and dad who own Waldorf Designs and freaking Bass Industries, respectively."

"Big whoop." Sloane slid into the car waiting for them outside the building. She turned to the driver. "Hey Kevin. Could you take us to the Empire Hotel?"

"Yes it is a big whoop!" Declan argued. "Bass Industries is worth nearly billions of dollars! _Billions_. Chuck Bass is one of the richest men in the world. These people are not some which you would like on your bad side. Like, if you offend them, they could kill you and make it look like an accident."

Sloane snorted. "Please; Wes said that they're all super nice. And we're not exactly hicks from the sticks, either; in case you haven't noticed, we kind of have a lot of money."

"But mom made her fortune through trust funds and divorce settlements," Declan said. "These people are actually important."

"I'm telling her you said that."

"Don't you dare," Declan warned.

Kevin, their driver pulled up to the curb of the Empire. "We're here."

Sloane hopped out of the car. "Thanks Kev. Declan, if you don't hurry up, we'll be late."

"Oh so now you're concerned about the time."

* * *

Henry had always enjoyed parties. He obviously preferred the kind with loud music and an open bar and scantly clothed girls, but even his parents more mellow soirees were entertaining. He supposed hosting and attending parties came with the environment of the Upper East Side, ingrained within him like Italian suits and Dom Perignon. The Bass family and various members of their circle regularly held little get-togethers, at least twice a month for as long as Henry could remember. Tonight, nearly every family friend they had had showed up.

And Wes, also in attendance (though without his parents), had insisted they invite the weird twins and their mother. Henry had attempted to discourage this momentary lapse in judgment, but his mom had immediately agreed with Wes and invited them, which was really a poor decision. That girl, Sloane, bothered him especially. Even after weeks of hanging around her (on Wes's insistence, of course), he found her to be audacious and brash and _loud_. Jeez could that girl talk; maybe she spoke so often to make up for her anti-social brother. Sloane wasn't like any girl he'd ever met, or any person he'd ever met, for that matter. Henry never had any idea what she was going to do next.

He hated that.

"They're late," Henry said to Wes. "They are always late. It told you this was a bad idea."

"Shut up," Wes hissed. "I'm sure they'll be here any second."

As if on cue, the elevator slid open to reveal the Beaumont siblings, Declan carrying a bottle of champagne. Blair rushed over to greet the guests. "Welcome! How are you two this evening?"

"Oh we're great, thank you," Sloane responded immediately. "Your home is beautiful."

"Thank you; you're too kind." Blair looked around. "Are your parents not coming? They're definitely welcome to join us, if the invitation was unclear."

Declan shook his head. "No, our mother has a prior arrangement to attend to. And we're… in between fathers at the moment."

"Daddy Number Eight left us for a stewardess back in May, and Mom's still on the hunt for Number Nine," Sloane explained.

"But our mother sends her regards, as well as some champagne." Declan held us the bottle of gold-hued liquid. "It's Cristal; her favorite."

"Well, I'm sure we'll put good use to it," Blair laughed. "My son and some of your friends are around here somewhere…" She spotted Wes and Henry loitering about ten feet away. "Ah, yes. There they are."

Sloane sauntered over to where they were standing. "Sup, bitches. How's it going?"

"Hi Sloane. Hi Declan," Wes said. "It's going pretty good."

"Same here." Sloane nodded. "So, who are all these people? I recognize Laurel and Paige and Teddy, and of course you two, but who are the rest of them?"

Henry looked around the room. "Meet my extended family."

"You're related to all these people?" Sloane asked. "I mean, I know you said you had a huge family, but there are like thirty people here."

Henry figured he should just get the explaining over with. He took a deep breath. "Over there are the Humphrey's, the family of my father's adopted step sister, Serena, and her husband Dan, along with their daughter Violet, who's twelve. The Archibald's, my dad's best friend Nate and his wife Michelle, are here with eight year old Nellie and six year old Mathew. The Kishlovshky's are here too, and while they actually aren't officially related to us, Dorota, my mother's ex-maid is basically family. So that means _her_ family, husband Vanya and kids Anna and Leo, are also like family. And then Georgina Sparks and her son Milo showed up too, which is kind of weird because they weren't actually invited, though they are also technically related to us; Milo was at one point legally Dan's son, though not biologically or practically speaking, making him my ex second cousin in law. And the Holbrook's, the Fairfax's, and the Sinclair's are just friends."

"Seriously?" Sloane marveled. "That's insane. How do you keep everyone straight?"

Henry shrugged. "I just call everybody aunt and uncle. I swear it's not as complicated as it seems."

"No but wait go back," Sloane said. "Are the Archibald's related to you?"

"Um…" This one was always tricky to remember. "Yes. My ex step aunt, Jenny, married his second cousin twice removed or something; it's one of the Vanderbilt's. Plus he's slept with aunt Serena, aunt Vanessa, aunt Jenny, and my mom; he was kind of a man whore back in his youth. But anyways, I'm pretty sure Uncle Nate is actually related to us in some way, although he is definitely not my actual uncle. I try not to dwell on it too much."

"Well I like Violet," Wes put in. "She's my favorite relative."

"Which one's Violet?" Declan asked.

"Henry's sort-of cousin. She's over there by the window," Wes told them. "She's a sixth grader, but she's like some kind of genius, so she knows, like, every random fact under the sun. She's also kinda mean, but in a funny way. I'll get her to come over."

Wes went and retrieved Violet, a pretty blonde girl wearing a silvery dress. "Guys, this is Violet. Violet, this is Declan and Sloane Beaumont; they go to school with us."

Violet glanced at Sloane's ratty tee shirt and greyish sweatpants and raised one eyebrow. "What are you wearing? Like, where do you even_ find_ stuff like that?"

"Well, I'm not_ totally_ sure where these come from," Sloane admitted with a shrug. "I like to describe my style as 'Sexy Homeless Person'."

"In that case, I congratulate you, because you've got that look nailed down."

"She's certainly a charmer," Sloane told Henry with a grin. "Does it run in the family?"

"Again, no blood relation," Henry reminded. "But yeah, it does."

Violet held up her hands. "Hey, I'm just pointing it out. It's not like you're ugly, you just aren't dressing in the most flattering manner." Her eyes flitted over to Declan, who'd been silent. "I'm assuming you're Declan? The twin brother?"

"I am," he answered with a little wave.

"You're dressed appropriately," she noticed.

"Thanks," he said. He looked over at his sister. "I tried my best with that one; she just doesn't have a lot of clothes that don't scream either hooker or vagrant drug dealer. It's either skin-tight leather or raggedy sweat suit; there is no in between."

"Oh, you can't judge me," Sloane argued. "You wear the exact same thing every day."

"Not true!" Declan retorted. "I just own a lot of dark colored sweaters."

"You two are funny," Violet said. "I just love sibling dynamics. Sadly, I am an only child, but I have read a few essays on twin studies. Did you know that fraternal twins reared apart have been known to meet by accident and _marry_ each other? It happened to this couple in Germany, and another one in Sweden, because they felt such a strong natural connection that they apparently thought they were soul mates. Weird, huh? It was one of the most strange and mildly disturbing things I have ever read."

"So you _are_ a genius." Sloane grinned. "Do you know a whole bunch of freaky genius stuff then? Like, what's that capital of Gambia? Or who was the twenty fourth president of the United States? Or what's the square root of 657?"

"I'm not a trick monkey," Violet complained. "I just happen to have a high IQ. I don't just go around answering random people's stupid trivia."

"So you don't know the answer?"

Violet rolled her eyes. "Banjul, Grover Cleveland, and 25.63201."

"I told you she was cool." Wes said.

"Never gets old," Henry agreed, ruffling his cousin's hair amicably. "C'mon Violet, tell us some more shit no one cares about."

Violet scowled and smoothed down her hair. "Yeah right; why would I waste my time talking to you idiots? I would _much_ rather return to the intelligent conversation I was having with Uncle Nate concerning the EU, which you rudely interrupted, by the way. Later losers."

"Love you too!" Henry called after her.

* * *

**_Meeting the family might be fun, but this little get together brings all of our favorites back under the same roof, without any students, teachers, or classes to stand in the way of the drama. I hope everyone remembers their party manners, but if not… well, there's nothing I love more than some good old-fashioned conflict. I can hardly wait._**


	6. Chapter 6

After Violet left, they slowly ran out of things to talk about. To make things worse, Wes and Declan had wandered off somewhere, leaving Sloane and Henry sitting all alone on the stairs. Henry had started ignoring her in favor of his phone, she had no clue where her brother had gone, and Sloane was getting pretty bored

"I'm hungry," Sloane announced. "Where's the food?"

Henry waved his hand vaguely towards the next room. "It's over that way."

"Come with me," Sloane said, though it was more of a demand than a suggestion.

"What? No way."

"Oh come on," Sloane complained. "You have to show me where it is."

Henry rolled his eyes. "The food's about twenty feet away; I'm sure you'll find it."

"You have to come with me because I am your guest." Sloane folded her arms over her chest. "I could always tell your mother you're being a bad host."

Henry snorted. "Are you seriously threatening to tell on me to my mom? What are you eight?"

"Oh, so then I should go tell her. She's right over there, I'll just pop over an-"

"Don't," Henry interrupted. He stood up grudgingly. "I'll get you some fucking appetizers."

Sloane grinned. "Aw thanks."

* * *

Laurel, Paige, and Teddy were starting a game of cards. They were playing go fish, because Laurel only knew two card games, the other one being war. These parties were normally fun, but it had been weird since Wes dumped Laurel. They had been a group of five for years, but the break up (though long anticipated) had separated them into two opposing teams. Paige always stuck with her best friend and Teddy pretty much just went wherever Paige did, so they became the first group. Meanwhile, Henry was backing Wes, creating the second group. This was complicated further still by the arrival of the twins, who Wes seemed to have befriended. New people were tricky; they had absolutely nothing to do with Wes and Laurel splitting up, but as long as they were hanging around Henry and Wes, it felt like aiding the enemy to talk to either of them.

The whole damn process made Teddy's head spin. He missed the days when all they had to worry about was spats between Paige and Laurel and Henry hooking up with the wrong girl. This was one of the most significant conflict the group had had, second only to the Great New Years Fiasco of ninth grade (long story), and even then at least everyone _knew_ what they were upset about. This shit was just confusing.

And where did all of this drama leave Teddy? Playing a dull game of cards at a usually fun event. It wasn't fair.

"Got any two's?" Paige asked in monotone.

He was about to tell her that no, he did not have any two's when that Sloane girl came clomping into the kitchen, followed by a murderous looking Henry. Sloane seemed to notice the trio sitting at the table and smiled. "Hey, I didn't know you guys were here, too! How's it going?"

"It's going okay," Teddy answered warily, unsure if this was crossing some invisible line.

Sloane grabbed a drink off the counter and pulled up a chair. "Yeah. Same here. So before I try and talk to any of you, I do not know your names. So you are Laurel, I know that one, you're in my science class. And you are... Ted? And you... um is it Jade? Or maybe... Katie?"

"It's Paige," Paige corrected. "And he goes by Teddy. Not Ted."

"Right, but I was close." Sloane looked over at Henry, who was loitering by the refrigerator. "Dude, aren't you going to sit or something? Because what you're doing now is kind of weirding me out..."

Slowly, Henry approached the table, grabbed a chair, and sat down in it. He folded his arms over his chest.

This was unknown territory. Teddy glanced around the table to gauge everyone's reaction to this surprising turn of events. Laurel looked annoyed. After all, this was the bastard who'd backed up her ex-boyfriend for being a dick, and here he was, sitting across from her. Paige was livid. Teddy knew first hand that she could hold a grudge like nobody's business, and nobody messed with her best friend and got away with it. Henry was trying to play it off like he didn't care, but as a person who'd known the kid since he was six, Teddy could tell he was anxious. As for Sloane? He may not have known her very well, but if Teddy Holbrook was good at anything, it was reading people. To an untrained eye, it might look as though new girl Sloane was unaware of the tension between Henry and the rest of the group, and had invited him over because she assumed they were all buddies. But Teddy recognized the look in her eye; it was the same one Henry got sometimes when he was scheming something terrible. Sloane knew _exactly_ what she was doing. She just wanted to see what would happen.

And in that moment, Teddy was wondering the exact same thing.

* * *

**_Spotted: a disaster waiting to happen. The fuse has been lit, Henry, now all that's left is for everything to blow up in your face. Tick tick tick..._**


	7. Chapter 7

"Okay, so if we can't play cards, what do you want to do?" Sloane asked.

_Well, I want Henry to leave_, Laurel thought. What kind of bastard sided with a guy who'd dump his girlfriend of two years at her own birthday party? Henry could saunter right out of her life for all she cared, and maybe he could take the Beaumont chick with him. It's not like Sloane was mean or anything, but she was pretty weird. She was a very straight shooter, which made Laurel uncomfortable. But Laurel supposed it was unfair to not even give her a chance, so instead of just leaving she replied. "I dunno, what do you want to do?"

"Drinking game?" Henry suggested.

Teddy raised an eyebrow. "You seriously want to get wasted in front of your parents?"

Henry shrugged. "Not like they've never seen a drunk person before."

"Okay skip the booze, what else?" Laurel prompted.

"Truth or dare?" Paige suggested.

"Ooh, yeah," Sloane said. "I love that game! But we should try for like minimal stripping and hooliganism, because parents."

"Um, okay then," Teddy straightened his glasses. "Does anyone want to go first?"

"I will, I guess," Laurel said. She scanned the table before locking eyes with Henry. "Truth or dare?"

"Truth."

Laurel adjusted her headband, considered her options, and decided to get right into what everyone was wondering anyways. "After, you know, _the Incident_, why the hell did you choose to defend Wes's less-than-chivalrous actions, though surely even you could see that he was being a total dick?"

"Wow, you decided to get right into it, didn't you," Henry said. "Well, Wesley is my best friend, has been for a long time. You all know his parents are crazy and that he stays at my house a lot, I couldn't suddenly turn my back on him. And he wasn't exactly a ball of fun after he broke up with you; he wallowed in his own guilt for like a month. I don't think he's a jerk, I think he was desperate. And besides, it's not like you liked each other anyways."

"Why does everyone keep saying that!?" Laurel snapped.

"Because you didn't," Henry continued. "Frankly, though the execution was poor, I think it was a fantastic idea to break up with you, or else you'd keep dating forever purely out of habit. Believe me, after some time passes, you'll thank him. Relationships are idiotic anyways. I think everyone should just hook up and part ways. No drama, no conflict, no hard feelings, just lots of sex."

"Listen to the love doctor over here," Paige mumbled.

Henry shrugged. "It's the perfect life style. Alright it's my turn… Theodore: truth or dare?"

"Truth, I guess."

"Why oh why haven't you and Paige hooked up already. It's getting pretty old."

Teddy shifted uncomfortably. "Well, um, I've asked her out several times, and she has made it clear that she's not interested. I still like her obviously, because she's smart and kind and funny, but it is completely within her rights to not date me. So, um, I consider her friendship to be too valuable to lose over my romantic interests, so I'm basically just respecting her desire to keep it platonic. And it's not exactly my ideal scenario, but I guess I'm okay with the way things are now."

"That may have been the cutest thing I've ever heard," Laurel gushed. She knew for a fact Paige liked him (well, not a _fact_ fact, but it was a pretty fair assumption). Laurel had been working on making Taige (the couple name she'd coined back in seventh grade) a thing for, like, ever. But Paige remained as stubborn as ever. Laurel suspected that Paige's problem stemmed from her tendency to think up worst case scenarios, namely one involving dating Teddy, breaking up, and then having to stare at him across the dinner table for the rest of her life. But Laurel was convinced that they were just mean to be.

"Is it my turn now?" Teddy asked. "Um, how about Sloane. Truth or dare?"

"Dare," she returned unflinchingly.

"First dare of the night. Let's think… I dare you to tell us your life story. What's your family like? How did you end up on the Upper East Side?"

"That's more like truth, but I'm game," Sloane said. "Well, Dec and I were born sixteen years ago in Miami, Florida. Mom's second husband, my dad, flew the coop exactly eighteen months after our birth, never to be seen again. So my maniac of a mother almost immediately remarried and we moved to a lodge in Connecticut, where we lived until sometime around my fourth birthday, when he caught my mom cheating with the gardener and kicked us to the curb. And thus began the never ending cycle of fathers. Daddy Three, my father from ages four to six, had a big house in the Bahamas, but he was an alcoholic. Daddy Four, ages seven to ten, ran a successful law firm in Chicago but then left us to 'find his inner self and the peace within' or something. Daddy Five, ten to twelve, Salt Lake City, went to jail after assaulting the guy Mom was sleeping with. Daddy Six, who only lasted four months in Phoenix when we were thirteen, suffered a nervous break, claiming my mother was a 'crazy bitch who's incapable of love'. No argument there. Daddy Seven, thirteen to fifteen, San Diego, just disappeared one day. And Daddy Number Eight, with the big house in LA, lasted one year and divorced my mom to date his stewardess mistress. Despite having cheated on countless guys, Mommy dearest cannot believe anyone would do such a thing to her, so she picked up and moved us to New York City for a "fresh start". So basically, that's been my life."

Sloane stopped to drink some water before continuing. "You asked me to tell you about my family, and I think my life story pretty much tells you all there is to know about our mother, like that she's a dramatic, unlikable bitch, for example. I don't really have any relatives, though I do get five or six presents from all my fathers every year, so I guess I'll just tell you about Declan. My brother is the single greatest person I know. He is the only thing that keeps me from flying off the handle most of the time, and I love him more than anything. Admittedly, he's super shy, like borderline hermit shy, and he can be kind of a stick in the mud, but Dec's just about the sweetest guy ever. I am unaware of his current location, but when he comes back, I suggest you get to know him, because he's a really good person, but he's bad at making friends. Oh, and don't tell him I said any on this. And as for me? Well, I like to go to parties, I like wearing black, I like my brother, I like to watch movies, I like giraffes, and I like to read. Is that enough info or should I go on?"

The room was completely silent. Sloane looked around the table. "Is it my turn to pick a truth or dare?"

"Uh, yeah," Paige said after a while.

"Alright then, I choose you," Sloane answered.

"Okay then… dare."

Sloane grinned. "Kiss Teddy."

Paige turned bright red. "What? Why?"

"Cause I think you two look cute together and the whole point of truth or dare is to make people uncomfortable. Go. Let's see you plant one on him."

Paige took a deep breath, grabbed the sides of Teddy's face, and pressed her lips against his. Laurel just about died with the cuteness of it. After a solid four seconds, Paige and Teddy pulled apart abruptly sank back into their chairs, both looking shell-shocked and refusing to make eye contact.

"There Sloane, are you happy?" Paige choked.

"Extremely."

* * *

**_I'm sorry to see the night end without a confrontation between L and W, who was missing for most of the evening, but despite this, I found this little get-together to be very revealing. Finally, we're able to get the truth on some of the rumors that have been flying around. Allow me to confirm or debunk some of the tips I've been getting from my loyal followers._**

**_The myth: "Henry backed Wes over Laurel because he thinks she deserves all she got"_**

**_The truth: FALSE. It seems that Baby Bass just wanted to stick with his best friend. How heartwarming._**

**_The myth: "The Beaumont's have some elaborate tragic back story"_**

**_The truth: TRUE. Yep, Sloane's little story was not quite a fairy tale. Daddy issues much?_**

**_The myth: "Paige and Teddy are totally going to get together"_**

**_The truth: UNKNOWN. Stay tuned for this one._**


	8. Chapter 8

On a cheery Thursday morning, Sloane arrived at lunch with a plan. She flew through out of the school and down the steps like she always did, hair flying behind her, uniform looking like she'd slept in it, and sat down next to her brother. Throwing down her stuff, she faced the group. "Guys. I had the greatest idea during third period. it's going to be awesome."

Henry sighed and looked up. The thing about Sloane Beaumont was that she never walked into a room; she barged, and crashed, and exploded into it. If Sloane entered a room, you would know, because the door would slam open and she would burst through it looking like she'd been chased the whole way by a bear. Sloane was perfectly average sized, but her personality was so enormous that sometimes you just forgot. Everywhere she went she burned with the fire of her own confidence. From her odd, eclectic clothing to her overly loud way of speaking, Sloane Beaumont absolutely demanded to be noticed.

"So, big news," Sloane announced. "My mom's going to be out of town this weekend-"

"That's not news," Declan interrupted. "Mom's always out of town."

"I haven't seen my parents in a month," Wes added. "Last I heard they were in Tahiti, but that was like a week ago, so they could be anywhere."

"Yeah being home alone isn't news," Declan concluded.

Sloane rolled her eyes. "If you guys could shut it for a second, I could tell you that Mom being in the Caribbean with Carlos _wasn't the news_, dummy. What I was going to say is that my house it going to be empty this weekend, and we are totally throwing a party at my place."

"Wait you are?" Declan said, looking concerned. "But... 'your place' is also my place. So..."

"Gee," Sloane said sarcastically. "You could almost say 'we are throwing a party'."

"Aw man, I was planning on watching TV and getting takeout for the whole weekend," Declan complained.

Henry, on the other hand, was excited. Nobody'd thrown a party in ages, not a fun one anyways. If Sloane could actually pull something together it could be the best event in a long time. She actually knew a lot of people, mostly because she talked all the time to anyone at all. Most everyone thought she was strange, but you could tell by looking at her she'd throw a good party. She'd need music, a killer guest list, and a shit ton of alcohol, but honestly, it could be fun.

"Sounds fun right?" Sloane said, grinning. "I need you guys to tell people about it. Invite everyone who's anyone and tell them to bring all of their friends. Our apartment's pretty big, so whoever wants to come can. I realize it's a little short notice, but I doubt anyone's got any important plans. It should be a rager."

"Who's bringing the booze?" Wes asked. "No offence, but if you throw a party without alcohol, it's gonna suck."

"Please, we have loads of alcohol," Declan said with a hand wave. "When you get divorced as much as Mom does, you keep the bar well stocked."

Sloane nodded. "Yeah, that's pretty much covered."

"What about music?" Henry prompted. "Can you get a DJ by Saturday."

Sloane waved her hand dismissively. "I think that's one of those problems you can solve by throwing money at it. All we really need is an awesome guest list. Which, as stated previously, I'm leaving up to you guys. Could you round up some people?"

"On it," Wes answered, typing furiously into his phone. "Aaaaand send. Group message sent out to all my contacts telling them to come. Sound like a pretty good time."

"Good work, Wes," Sloane said. "Do you think you could come over early to help set up and stuff? You were coming over on Saturday anyways, so really it's just a change of activity."

"Sounds good," Wes agreed.

"Oh Dec, come with me to ask Paige and Laurel to come." Sloane turned to Henry and Wes. "You guys stay here, cause they kind of hate you. Alright be right back."

"So, you were going over on Saturday?" Henry asked Wes. "Why?"

"Well, um, I'm doing a history project with Sloane, so we were gonna go, uh, work on it," Wes stammered.

"You sure are going over there a lot these days," Henry said casually, taking note of his best friend's distress.

Wes laughed nervously. "Oh, am I? I don't think I'm going over to the, um, Beaumont Residence all that much. Just being friendly to some new students."

"It's November, Wesley. They aren't that new anymore."

"Lovely weather we're having for November," Wes said. "No rain or snow or anything, you know."

Henry and Wes had been friends for a very long time; they were as close as most brothers. In their friendship, Wes was the honest one; as honest and as open as a book. It was Henry who had always been the liar. But now more than ever, Henry was absolutely positive Wes was hiding something from him. Something big. And he was starting to suspect that something, was Sloane Beaumont.

* * *

_**Dear sweet Henry. Not so fun being on the receiving end of the deception is it? But while we've all come to expect it from Bass, Wes has always played the good guy. Gandhi once said "There is no God higher than truth", so I guess this is Golden Boy's fall from grace. At least in Henry's eyes. Or maybe he's just jealous? Hold onto your hats Upper East Siders, there might be a love triangle blossoming.**_


	9. Chapter 9

At ten thirty on Saturday night, Paige and Laurel stood in an elevator, rising to the twenty third floor, where the Beaumont's apartment was.

"Are you sure we have to go?" Paige asked with a sigh. "Sloane's a total freak, and her brother just seems dorky. Why are we even going to her stupid party?"

"We were invited," Laurel protested. "And everyone's going. Besides, it's not like you have anything better to do."

"I bet it's totally weird," Paige argued. "I bet we're the only ones there. I bet-"

The elevator dinged and slid open, revealing what might have been living room packed full of teenagers. Loud music blared from speakers and everyone was talking and dancing and laughing. Laurel looked over at Paige smugly. "See? Fun."

Aria Galloway, one of their friends, an aspiring model, and one of Henry's frequent hook ups, ran up and grabbed Paige's arm. "Oh my god! You guys came. Isn't this party totally great?"

"Why are there so many people here?" Paige shouted in order to be heard over the music. "How does that freak girl know so many people?"

Aria shrugged. "I dunno; word gets around, I guess. It was also on Gossip Girl."

"Was it?" Laurel asked.

Aria whipped out her phone and read the post aloud. "To any Upper East Siders who didn't get the memo, there's a party at the Beaumont's on Saturday night, and I hear everyone's going. Bonus points to anyone who sends me tips."

Paige could never understand why Gossip Girl had suddenly put so much focus on the loser twins. I mean sure, they were new and Sloane was a scandal waiting to happen, but Gossip Girl surely had better taste than to write about that classless floozy.

Brooke Peterson came over to join them. "Hey! Glad you two could make it. The music's great isn't it? They hired the DJ from Poison Apple!"

Poison Apple was a notoriously cool night club frequented by the Constance and St. Jude students. Paige had no idea how Sloane had managed to borrow their DJ on a Saturday night. Brooke looked around. "Where's Teddy?"

"I don't know," Paige answered quickly. "Why would I know?"

"Cause you're always together?" Aria cocked her head. "Don't you, like, practically live together?"

"No, we just live in the same building. Completely different apartments." In actuality, there was a staircase leading from one apartment to the other, but nobody needed to know the extent of her parent's friendship with the Holbrooks. "Teddy is his own person. He has his own life."

"Okay, no need to get so touchy. You just seem to always be together."

"That's not true. Not always." Paige really _hadn't_ seen Teddy much lately. It had been really weird between them since she had to kiss him at the dinner party three weeks before; and it was _never _weird between her and Teddy. He was one of the only people in the world that she completely trusted; he was like her brother. Only then stupid Sloane made her kiss him and suddenly Teddy didn't_ feel _quite like her brother anymore. She definitely didn't like him. She could not possibly like him, right? It's just… he had kissed her so softly; like he was afraid he might break her, despite the fact that Paige was only one inch shorter than he was and she could probably beat him up. Their friendship had always made perfect sense, but now Paige doubted it. And she blamed that bitch Sloane for all of it.

* * *

Henry had to admit, this party had turned out pretty well. Other than the brief crisis of finding a good DJ on such short notice, the entire event had gone off without a hitch, and the DJ issue was solve quickly by a call from Henry's father, anyways.

Henry looked around at the Beaumont's apartment, now filled with people and noise. When he first walked into the apartment, he was honestly surprised at the décor. It was bright and neat and colorful, nothing like he would have expected from the home of Sloane and Declan, who had very little in common other than their slightly angry attitudes and monotone wardrobes. Henry had imagined the twins home to be dark and plain, filled with sharp lines and minimal decorations, but this place was exactly the opposite. But that didn't really matter for the purposes of throwing a party, anyways. As long as the lights were dimmed, the music loud, and the guest list filled with fun people, it was easy to put on an event. And add a little bit of alcohol, a few hot girls, and Henry could thoroughly enjoy himself. Or he would have anyways, if he wasn't in such a bad mood. At the moment, all he could bring himself to do was sit in an armchair with a glass of scotch he wasn't even enjoying. And it was nice scotch too.

Wes had disappeared into the crowd almost as soon as the guests had arrived. He'd been doing that a lot lately, off with Sloane, no doubt. Henry wasn't sure what irked him so much about Wes dating (or at the very least fucking) Sloane behind his back. It just didn't really make sense. Sloane and Wes were polar opposites; he was easy going and clean cut and likeable, while she was wild and dangerous and unpredictable, everything about her seemed to contradict the last. Henry just assumed Wes would go for a girl who was more… buttoned up. Sloane was nothing like any of the girls Wes had ever dated, but then again, Sloane wasn't like any girl Henry had ever met. And then there was the issue that Wes was_ lying_ to him. Henry was almost positive Wes and Sloane had a thing going on, after all, there were so many signs. Like that Wes was always over at her apartment. And he had been texting a whole lot more than he usually did, but when Henry had asked what he was doing; Wes got all nervous and said nothing. Come to think of it, Wes was constantly nervous, undoubtedly a side effect of his dishonesty. He must have felt really bad about it though, because he'd essentially turned into a walking anxiety attack. Served that bastard right, Henry thought.

So here Henry was at a party, his natural element, and despite the fact that he was surrounded with pretty, desperate girls, he wasn't even having fun. Even a brief make out with Aria Galloway didn't cheer him up, and she was the exactly the blonde, vapid, and social climbing type of girl he usually went for. Heather Jameson, Althea Bruyere, and Gabrielle Yule hadn't brightened his mood either. Henry literally just sat in that chair for hours, scrolling through old Gossip Girl and brooding, other than flirting a little with the occasional intoxicated female who dropped by to hang all over him once in a while. He was flirting half-heartedly though; if he was on his game, he could have taken at least one of those girls home with him, but he was just too bummed out to put in the effort.

Around one in the morning, Laurel came by and tapped him on the shoulder. "Oh there you are. I haven't seen you all night."

"Hi Laurel," Henry grumbled. She looked really good in the silver dress she was wearing, her perfect blonde curls falling gracefully over her shoulder, but she wasn't really Henry's type. Never had been, never would be. She was just too small and cute and nice, which didn't seem like bad traits, but definitely were to Henry. "What do you want?"

"Oh, well, everyone said it wasn't a big deal, but I thought you might want to know that Wes-"

"I don't really care about Wesley's escapades," Henry interrupted. "He can do what he wants."

"See, a part of me agrees with you, seeing as he dumped me on my ass last year and still hasn't really apologized," Laurel said. "Like honestly, that son of a bitch; I want to kill him a little bit. But on the other hand, he's been taking shots all night, and he doesn't really _do_ that."

Henry raised his eyebrows. "_Wes_ has been taking shots? Wes Morgan? Seriously? The kid can't even take cold medicine without getting a little tipsy."

"Yeah, he's completely white girl wasted," Laurel said, "and I assumed he'd be going home with you."

"Damn it," Henry cursed, pushing himself out of his chair. The last thing he wanted to do was haul home a drunk, and god knows Wes couldn't hold his liquor. Henry followed Laurel through the swarm of bodies into the living room. In the middle of the room, a clump of people crowded around the couch, and sure enough, at the center of the circle was Wes, laughing uncontrollably, his blond head in Sloane Beaumont's lap.

Henry pushed through the people and shook his friend's shoulder. "Wes, buddy, I think it's time for you to go home."

"But why would I wanna do that?" Wes slurred, still consumed by fits of hysterics.

"Henry!" Sloane said. "I haven't seen you all night! Where have you been?"

"In the kitchen," Henry answered. "How the hell did he get so drunk?"

"Oh, well Dec and I bet him he couldn't take a shot," Sloane answered. "And it turns out he could. I think he was trying to show off or something."

"It was mostly Sloane who did the daring," Declan put in. "I just kind of watched."

"Well I think removing his drunken ass from your apartment would make sense right now," Henry

Declan looked concerned. "But aren't his parent out of town? He can't really be by himself in this state. He could stay here if-"

"Nope, that won't be necessary," Henry interrupted. The last thing he wanted was Wes spending the night with Sloane. "I'll just take him home to my place. He sleeps there half the time anyways. You know; my mom worries."

"I love your mom," Wes put in. "Your parents are jus' the best, y'know? The best."

"That's great, Wesley," Henry said, grabbing his arm. "You could probably even see them tomorrow morning. Now we're going to leave, so if you could stand up, that would be fantastic."

Wes stood up shakily. "We're gonna leave?"

"Yeah."

"Oh, I'll say bye." Wes grabbed Sloane and kissed her hard, on the mouth. "Bye everyone."

Henry stood there in shock.

"Well, that was a little unexpected," Sloane said breezily. She nudged her brother. "He's a great kisser though."

Without a word, Henry turned on his heel and dragged Wes into the elevator.

"Fuck everything," he grumbled.

* * *

"Is this your house?"

"You've been here a million times."

"Oh," Wes laughed. "Right."

"Be quiet," Henry shushed. "You'll wake up my parents."

"Okay," Wes stage-whispered, barely quieter than before.

Henry hauled Wes down the hallway of the Bass apartment into the old guest room, which really hadn't ever been a guest bedroom since Wes had been sleeping in it once or twice a week since he was eight. They'd just called it the guest room until a few years earlier, when Blair had finally caved and labeled it "Wes' Room". Now, Wes collapsed face down onto the bed.

"I feel weird," he said.

"I'll bet you do," Henry responded, pulling off his shoes. Wes may have been a lying bastard, but he was family, and friends didn't let friends sleep in their sneakers. "Why in the world did you get so drunk?"

"Cause 'm jus' so stressed," Wes slurred. "And I think I'm in love."

Henry paused. "With Sloane?"

"Nuh uh," Wes mumbled. "You can't tell Henry. It's a secret. Shh."

"Okay," Henry said, flipping off the lights and retreating to his own bedroom, a little ways down the hall.

Henry was feeling conflicted. He knew he didn't want Wes dating Sloane. He wasn't quite sure why, but decided to push that thought out of his head for the time being. But Henry couldn't ignore the fact that when Wes was dating Laurel, in their entire two year relationship, he had been a good boyfriend, he'd done everything he was suppose to. But he had never, not even once, told Henry he was in love.

* * *

_**I love the smell of scandal in the morning, even if it is only two am. But that's when everything exciting happens anyways**_


	10. Chapter 10

Around ten thirty the following morning, Henry woke up, got dressed, and went downstairs to make himself breakfast. He met his mother in the kitchen, sitting at the counter and browsing the New York Times.

"Morning," Henry said, pouring himself some coffee and drinking it straight. He liked his coffee as black as his soul.

"Good morning, darling," his mother greeted.

He sat down next to her. "Is dad here?"

"No, he had a meeting with the architects designing the new hotel in Moscow, but it started at six this morning so he should be back any moment." Blair paused and looked around in slight confusion. "Speaking of missing people; where's Wes? He's usually up long before you are."

"I highly doubt Wesley will be getting up at all today," Henry said. "He was pretty hammered last night."

"_Wes?" _Blair asked. "He drinks? Since when?"

Henry shrugged. "Since yesterday, I guess."

"What was he drinking?"

"I wasn't really present," Henry admitted. "But Laurel kind of filled me in. So from what she observed there was beer, champagne, scotch, something from a mysterious water bottle, some shots of tequila, and god knows what else. So he's probably not in tip top shape right now."

Blair cringed. "Oh god, and he doesn't usually drink either. Someone should probably go make sure he's still alive."

"Nah, I heard whimpering from his room earlier, so he's not dead."

At that moment, Chuck Bass entered the kitchen, apparently finished with whatever meeting he had been attending. "Good morning."

He ruffled Henry's hair (much to his annoyance) and took the seat next to Blair, who he grabbed and he began kissing passionately.

"Blech; no!" Henry interrupted. "You saw her like two hours ago, dad; you two definitely don't need to make out like you've returned from a ten year voyage at sea. Also, this is the kitchen, which is the number one PDA-free zone. Have you even _read_ the contract?"

"Of course, we were all there when the lawyer drafted it," his father said.

Blair laughed and stood up. "I'm going to check on your poor friend and bring him some water or Advil or something."

"What poor friend?" Chuck asked Henry.

"Wes," Henry answered. "He got completely trashed last night. I don't know why Mom cares so much though; she's never this nice to me when I'm drunk."

His father chuckled. "Please. You're a Bass, and we Basses don't get hangovers. Think about it, I mean maybe a headache after a particularly wild night, but in the Bass family, we hold our liquor. Wesley, despite how much he's in our house, is not a Bass. He's probably suffering."

"You've really got to stop attributing all my good attributes to 'being a Bass'," Henry grumbled. "I'll be like 'I got a good grade on my science test' and you and Mom are all 'Ah yes, like a true Bass'. It's seriously getting old."

Chuck shrugged. "You've been blessed with good genes. Your mother and I just want the credit we deserve; we did create you."

Henry was busy rolling his eyes when Blair came back into the kitchen.

"How's he doing?" Chuck asked.

"Remember Serena before she went to boarding school?" Blair asked. "It's like her on a bad day."

Chuck raised his eyebrows. "Seriously? What kind of party was this?"

"Nah, it wasn't anything crazy," Henry said dismissively. "Wes is just a total lightweight."

"Poor thing," Blair said. "He's absolutely miserable."

Henry snorted. "Oh please."

"Why do you have no sympathy today?" Blair asked. "He is your best friend."

"Well first of all, it's his own fault he got wasted," Henry said. "And secondly, he's a big fucking liar."

Chuck narrowed his eyes "What do you mean?"

"So you know that girl Sloane?" Henry asked. "You know, dark hair, dark eyes, dark clothes, dark humor? Anyways, I'm like ninety percent sure Wesley is sleeping with her, and he won't tell me he's sleeping with her."

"Wait Wes is sleeping with someone?" Blair asked in astonishment. "Did he and Laurel ever… you know."

Henry shook his head.

"So does that make this the… this is exceptionally uncomfortable. Has Wes slept with any girls_ before_? Or is this the _first_, or what?"

"He hasn't actually mentioned any sexual encounters," Henry said. "But nowadays I don't even know. So maybe. Sloane may be the first girl he's screwed."

"Knowing Wes, this is a big deal for him," Blair commented. "I mean, when Chuck and I-"

"Never again!" Henry interrupted. "I do _not_ want to hear that story in any more detail than I have already heard it and it's beside the point anyways. The point is that he's lying to me. Wesley is my best friend and he is lying to me. About a girl, no less."

Blair frowned. "But there must be a _reason_ he's lying to you though. I mean, this is Wes we're talking about; he is the most honest child I have ever met, almost annoyingly so. He's a regular Nate Archibald for gods sake"

"Not anymore!" Henry shot back.

"So Sloane, what's she like?" Chuck asked leaning back in his chair.

"She's not really 'like' anything," Henry explained. "She's hands down the strangest person I've ever met. Well, maybe not the strangest, if you count Pigeon Joe, but Sloane's still pretty weird. She even dresses really weird, I mean it would look worse on somebody else, but the overall effect is still bad. And she's loud, and she says whatever she wants to, probably because doesn't give a shit about anything other people think. I don't know; there's just something about her that bugs the hell out of me."

"So you like her," Blair concluded.

"_What!?"_ Henry yelped. "I do not! This is not about me!"

"He totally likes her right?" Blair asked Chuck, who nodded. "Yeah; you're jealous."

"I am not jealous!" Henry exclaimed. "What the hell did I say to make you think that?"

Blair sighed. "If you remove all the disdain and teenage angst from your description, you basically just told us that she's not like any girl you've ever met, she's pretty, she's strong and independent, and you don't know what it is about her that you like. Face it; it's love."

"That is not at _all_ what I said," Henry said angrily. "I'm just upset my best friend is lying to me."

"I'm sure you are," Chuck agreed. "And you're also deeply in like, not to mention in lust, with this 'Sloane' of yours."

"You two are completely delusional," Henry said. He stood up abruptly and stormed out of the kitchen, up the stairs, and into his room, shutting the door behind him.

"Kids," Blair said.

"Kids," Chuck agreed.

Blair sipped her coffee thoughtfully. "But… how is he going to get the girl?"

"He'd have to get Wes out of the way, of course," Chuck said. "The question is how… Maybe bring up his dark past?"

Blair snorted. "You've met this kid; he doesn't have any 'dark past'. Be serious."

"Okay, how about Henry sets up a date between them, but gives Wes the wrong address, so he unintentionally stands her up, and he looks bad."

"Too tame," Blair dismissed. "He has to send Wes a message."

Chuck thought for a moment. "What if the wrong address was the address of a crack house?"

"That's better." Blair grinned. "I know where at least three crack houses are located, so getting an address shouldn't be an issue. Oh, and then, to really seal the deal, Henry should show up 'coincidentally' at the location of this would-be date, and start seducing Sloane."

"It's a perfect scheme," Chuck agreed. "You go get Henry and I'll start the… wait… wait a second. We're adults. We're plotting the down fall of a _child_."

"A child who's sleeping in our guest bedroom," Blair added, looking slightly horrified. "A child who we've known since the boys were in kindergarten. He's in our photo albums. I just brought him juice and told him to feel better, like literally five minutes ago."

"We_ like_ Wes," Chuck said.

"What's _wrong_ with us?"

Chuck smiled at her wickedly. "It would have worked though."

"Of course it would have, we're _us_" Blair sighed with the shadow of a smile on her face.


	11. Chapter 11

Teddy was standing in line at a coffee shop near his apartment when Sloane texted him. It was a group text, asking Teddy, Paige, Laurel, Henry, and Wes to come over to her house because she was bored.

Another text, this one from Henry, popped up beneath the original: _"r u having a party?"_.

A third message appeared:_ "nah. just had one a month ago lol. we can just watch tv or something idk"_.

"_sounds fun :)"_, Laurel replied. Teddy was almost certain Laurel had never sent a text message that didn't contain a smiley face.

The woman behind the counter handed Teddy his order. "Here you are, sir. I'm pretty sure we got all of the drinks as you asked for them."

"Sorry that was so complicated," Teddy apologized, grabbing the cardboard tray from her. "I live with a lot of… complicated people."

The barista nodded. "Your roommates?"

"Nah, just my family. If they were my roommates I could move out." Teddy set twenty dollars on the counter and walked out of the store, knowing he'd over paid, but not wanting to try and find any smaller bills. Besides, the lady had seemed nice enough; she could probably use a few extra dollars.

Teddy exited the store and made his way down the street, struggling to balance the six drinks he was carrying amid the hustle and bustle of the Manhattan sidewalk. He crossed the street and ducked into the lobby of his apartment building.

"Morning Fred," he greeted the doorman.

"Good morning Mr. Holbrook." Fred noted the drinks in Teddy's arms. "Coffee order for your family?"

The elevator slid open and Teddy stepped inside. "You know it."

Once inside the elevator, Teddy set the cardboard tray on the floor and rummaged through the pocket of his jacket for the key to his apartment; they were in there somewhere. He'd just managed to locate his key by the time the elevator came to a stop. But apparently the key was unnecessary because the door was open anyways. He really had to remind his mother to close the damn door.

"I'm back," Teddy announced to his apartment.

Almost instantly, his mother emerged from the yoga studio/living room. "Hello darling. James and Matilda just went upstairs to grab this new book on meditation; which sounds fascinating, by the way. I'll run and get them."

Moments later, his mother, father, and Paige's parents descended the stairs and approached the table where Teddy had set the drinks. "Teddy, which of these is which?"

Teddy sighed and started handing out cups. "Rice milk chai tea for Mom, herbal tea with a shot of black tea for Matilda, peppermint tea for Dad, and an iced green tea for James. Oh and I picked up some of those weird flax-soy-whatever muffins from that bakery you guys like."

"Thank you, Teddy," his father said. "I sense your chakras are aligned today, perhaps it is because Jupiter is in the seventh house and-"

"Yep, chakras. Got it." Teddy grabbed the two remaining cups and headed for the stairs. "You guys enjoy your meditation book and your tea alright? Find inner peace and all that."

Teddy lived in a household of hippies. He'd always thought his parents and Paige's were a match made in heaven; or in the alignment of the stars or whatever horoscope shit they all believed in. His parents had made their fortune off of their yoga empire and Paige's family off a juicing craze. They'd all met up at a yoga and meditation class in one of Teddy's parents' studios when Teddy and Paige were two and had 'sensed a bond'. Obviously, that meant practically moving in together and spending every waking moment with each other; from sunrise celebration to evening cleanse circle. So basically Teddy's whole life was surrounded by chia seed and exercise and feng shui. His sort-of family meant well, but living with them was hell. A very green, healthy hell.

Teddy knocked twice on the door. "Hey Paige; open up."

"Why is that?" came the reply from behind the door.

"I got food."

The door swung open. "Something with caffeine?"

"Obviously," Teddy said with a grin. He handed her one of his cups. "One large, extra hot, half caf, one sugar, skim milk mocha with one shot of peppermint and caramel swirl on the top and the bottom; a beverage otherwise known as the Paige Fairfax special."

"Whipped cream?" Paige asked, suspiciously.

Teddy nodded. "Yes, it has extra whipped cream. How could I forget?"

"Good work," Paige said. "Anything else."

"I picked up some doughnuts." Teddy grinned, holding up a paper bag.

"They're probably filled with GMOs and high fructose corn syrup," Paige pointed out. "And can I just say hallelujah for that. Gimme one."

Teddy laughed. "Yeah, I need to get the taste of last night's tofu casserole out of my mouth. I realize it's good for you but god was it gross."

Paige nodded, taking a long sip of her coffee. "My digestive system may be in top form, but I think my soul died."

"Hey did you get that text from Sloane?" Teddy asked, sitting down on Paige's bed.

Paige rolled her eyes. "Yeah. Ew."

"What exactly do you have against her?"

"She's weird." Paige wrinkled her nose, which Teddy thought was adorable. "She walks around like she owns the city and dresses like a homeless stripper. Her brother is fine. He's really nice actually, but ugh; I just don't like her."

"You're feeling judgmental today," Teddy teased.

"Please. I'm always judgmental. You should know that by now."

"Well I think I'm going," Teddy decided.

"No, be cool and stay here with me," Paige said.

"Yeah because _we're_ really cool," Teddy said. "We just watch Netflix and eat ice cream."

"I'm pretty sure it's only lame if you say it out loud," Paige argued. "Unspoken lameness doesn't count. It's a law of the universe."

Teddy grinned. "Spoken like a true closet nerd."

She stuck out her tongue. "_You're_ a nerd. At least other people think _I'm_ cool."

"Ooh, burn," Teddy said sarcastically. "There's that judgment you were talking about. We hang out with the same people, you know."

"Yeah, but I'm popular, whereas you are a geek with popular friends," Paige explained. "Duh."

"Isn't that the same thing…?"

"Of course not. Don't be stupid."

Teddy whipped out his cell phone. "I'm gonna look it up."

"See, that," Paige said, "that is why you are a nerd."

"Oh, then in that case, I'll just reply yes to Sloane's invite," Teddy said. "Yep, there we go. Message sent."

Paige scowled. "Damn it, Teddy. Why?"

"Well a nerd like me should be hanging out with uncool people, right?" Teddy said with a grin.

"You're cooler than Freak Girl," Paige grumbled, typing on her phone. "There. I'm going too."

"I thought you were going to stay home," Teddy said.

Paige grimaced. "I'd like to, but it won't be any fun if I'm all alone."

"Doth my ears deceive me? Are you saying you want to spend time with me?"

Paige blushed. "Shut it, nerd."

* * *

_**Freak Girl. I like it.**_


	12. Chapter 12

When the limo rounded the corner, Wes started getting fidgety. Henry looked up from his phone and raised an eyebrow. "Something wrong?"

Wes flinched. "What?"

"You seem sort on edge." Of course, Wes was always on edge these days. Two day ago, Henry had asked him for a pencil in math class and had surprised him so much he fell out of his chair.

"No I'm okay," Wes gave Henry the fakest smile he had ever seen. Henry had seen a lot of fake smiles; the girls at his school were the champions of the fake smile, but the cheesy grin that painted his best friend's face may have taken the cake.

"You're literally shaking, Wesley. You certainly don't look 'okay'."

"I'm fine," Wes said firmly, though he continued to twitch.

"You sure?" Henry coaxed. "There's nothing you want to tell me? Nothing at all?"

"Oh look, we're here," Wes said, practically leaping out of the car.

Henry sighed and followed Wes into the building and into the elevator. It made sense that meeting up with his secret girlfriend, his best friend, and his ex-girlfriend all at the same time would raise the pressure a bit, and even Henry could agree that Wes did not need any extra stress in his life. Honestly, Henry couldn't help but feel bad for him; he seemed to be on the verge of a panic attack at all times, and he'd been avoiding everyone. He'd been staying at his own apartment more and more frequently and even when he was at Henry's he hid away in his room and barely spoke to Henry or his parents, and even when he did he wouldn't look at any of them. Henry noted less outings with the Beaumont's (Henry was sure it was just with Sloane, but Wes always made sure to mention he was out with both of the twins; probably to throw people off), but also that Henry rarely saw Wes outside of school. He wouldn't be surprised if Wes was just hiding out in his empty apartment all the time. Frankly, Wes's reaction to having a secret relationship seemed disproportionate to the actual severity of his misdeeds. Sure, Henry was pissed Wes was lying to him, but he was clearly in agony. If Wes didn't get this off his chest soon, Henry was sure he would completely break down.

"Hi!" Sloane greeted them the moment the elevator door opened, like immediately after the door opened. She was standing literally three inches in front of the elevator. Wes yelped and stumbled backwards.

"Oh, didn't mean to surprise you," Sloane apologized. "I just heard the elevator and went to say hi and got a little over excited, I guess. Oh well; come on in."

Henry followed her into the apartment, which was decidedly less loud and dark and crowded than when he'd last seen it, at Sloane's party. Sloane whipped around to face him. "So I got food and stuff. Paige just texted me that she'll be here in a second, and she's bringing Laurel with her, so they'll be here. And Teddy's coming in a little bit."

Henry nodded. "Okay."

Wes sat down tentatively on the edge of the couch, not saying a word, and Henry decided that if Wes wanted to be a wet blanket, it wasn't his problem.

Declan emerged for a hallway, looking confused. "Uh, hey guys… What are you doing here…?"

"I invited them," Sloane said. "Remember?"

"No I don't remember," Declan said, looking unamused. "Because you didn't tell me."

Sloane frowned. "Didn't I? I was sure I mentioned it."

"You did not. You forgot. _Again_."

Sloane rolled her eyes. "Oh stop moping, Eeyore. I'm sorry I attempted to be social towards our friends, but I haven't seen these two in forever."

Henry sighed. As if she hadn't seen Wes while they were sneaking around together. Who did they think they were fooling?

"Are a lot of people coming?" Declan asked tentatively

Sloane shook her head. "No, only these two plus Paige, Teddy, and Laurel. It's gonna be pretty low key, I swear."

"Better be," Declan grumbled.

The doorbell sounded and Sloane's face lit up. "That must be the rest of everyone. I'll get it."

Declan sunk into the living room couch and mumbled something that sounded suspiciously like "Ugh. People."

Sloane returned with Paige, Laurel, and Teddy. "Guys look who I found."

"Hello," Henry said. "How are you all?"

Laurel beamed. "It's going good."

Paige shrugged. "Meh."

Henry could always count on Paige to be unimpressed by the world. She was a creature of long legs and cynicism. Her mood and opinions changed every day, so one day she could be friends with someone, and the next they were blacklisted forever. Henry's mother always said Paige reminded her of a younger version of herself, only more ginger. She was not one to cross, which Henry respected. Good old Paige.

"So I bought food," Sloane said.

Teddy eyed her suspiciously. "What kind of food?"

Sloane thought a moment. "Um, some chips, soda, a cake-"

"Cake?" Paige interrupted, perking up. "Like what kind of cake."

"I mean, I just picked it up when I was at the grocery store," Sloane said. "I think it's chocolate."

Paige and Teddy locked eyes. "Fuck yes. Grocery store cake and brand name chips."

"Uh, are you two like foodies or something?" Sloane asked in confusion.

"No, they're junk foodies," Henry explained. "They come from a hippie household. We all try to stay away from the Holbrook-Fairfax place, because there's only ever bean curd puffs and homemade kombucha to eat. So basically every time we go out in public and eat, these two pounce on all the Twinkies and Cheetos the can get their hands on."

"You poor, oppressed souls," Sloane said sympathetically. "I'll get out the snacks."

"Yes thank you," Paige and Teddy agreed in unison.

Laurel carefully selected a potato chip and popped it into her mouth. "You know, I can't believe we only met you three months ago, Sloane. It seems like much longer."

Sloane nodded. "Well, we've moved around a lot, so I've got a lot of practice making new friends. My mom followed almost every one of my step fathers back to their home states, so this is the ninth city I've lived in. Like, in seventh grade, Declan and I lived in three houses, in three states, went to three different schools, and had three step fathers."

"That's horrible," Teddy said.

"Eh, we get by," Sloane said with a shrug. "But basically that means we never know how long we'll get to keep our friends. Dec's pretty much given up, but I'm still holding out that one day we'll all settle down somewhere. So I'm sorry if I come on kind of strong; I'm just trying to forge meaningful connections as quickly as possible, you know?"

"You just made me sad," Laurel said. "Let's do something fun."

"Like what?" Paige asked

"I'll go see if we have booze," Sloane suggested as she walked away.

Henry sighed and sat down at the counter. "Any other ideas? I mean, in addition to getting drunk of course. That idea's definitely a keeper."

"Want to see what's on TV?" Teddy asked.

The television flipped on to a nature documentary, and after fifteen minutes, nobody could figure out how to work the remote.

"This sucks," Paige complained. "I'm gonna go find Sloane and tell her to hurry up."

"Aw, but the pandas are cute," Laurel said, staring at the screen.

Henry appreciated Laurel for her constancy. No matter what was happening in the general public, Laurel could almost always be trusted to be her usual bubbly self. Henry found her positive attitude incredibly refreshing, especially after spending much of his time with a mopey, anxious Wes. Bouncy, friendly, and painfully optimistic, she was probably the nicest among all of Henry's friends. Usually he found her to be fairly irritating, but at the moment he was just glad to see someone in a good mood.

"But you don't really want to watch an entire movie about pandas and their eating and sleeping habit, do you?" Teddy pointed out. "Sure it's cute but this is already getting old."

Laurel opened her mouth to protest, but stopped when Paige re-entered the room, wide eyed with shock.

"Did you find Sloane?" Teddy asked. He stared at her. "Are you okay?"

"I don't understand," Paige sputtered in shock. "I don't… her ex-_boyfriend_… don't think they noticed me… known him forever… bedroom… I never would have…"

She trailed off and Henry started connecting the dots. He hadn't seen Wes for about twenty minutes. It all made sense now. Nobody took that long to go through their liquor cabinet; Sloane wasn't getting alcohol, she'd just used that as an excuse to get out of the room to go fooling around with Wes. And Paige, in her search for Sloane, had happened upon the two lovebirds, without their knowledge, apparently.

Henry stormed past Paige and down the hallway. This was the last straw. It was simply uncultured to invite people over to your house just to abandon them and sneak off with your secret boyfriend. Henry was so fed up with all of this damn deception. He found the room in question, the only one with the door shut, and flung open the door. "I knew it! I-"

Every bit of anger Henry harbored towards his best friend immediately dissolved, replaced quickly by shock and confusion. Looking back, he supposed he may have jumped to a conclusion, but never in a million years would he have predicted _this_. He'd thought there'd be an 'aha' moment when he finally figured out what was going on, but any feelings of triumph had died the moment Henry had realized what exactly he was seeing. The two faces staring back at him looked equally shocked and horrified, perhaps even more so. Henry suddenly understood why Paige had looked so surprised, why Wes had been so frazzled for the past few months. Because the dark figure so closely entwined with Wes was not Sloane; it had never been Sloane.

It was Declan.

* * *

_**Spotted: Henry Bass looking dazed and confused, and the feeling appears to be mutual. Henry thought Golden Boy and Freak Girl were running around behind his back, but it looks like H miscalculated. It seems that W wants the D in more ways than one. Looks like more than the truth came out tonight. **_

_**More details later. XOXO **_


	13. Chapter 13

Sloane (who apparently had gotten distracted by her phone while looking through the liquor cabinet) cleared everyone out pretty quickly after Henry walked in on Wes and her brother. Declan looked sheepish but surprisingly calm about the whole situation, whereas Wes seemed to be in a state of shock. Needless to say, the ride back to Henry's place was absolutely silent and incredibly uncomfortable.

Wes walked into the apartment and immediately went to his room, shutting the door behind him. Henry was sorely tempted to leave him in their; go to sleep and wait until the morning to deal with this mess, or at least until his parents got home so _they_ could deal with this mess, but eventually his conscience won over and he followed after Wes.

He was sitting on the edge of his bed, looking exhausted and shell shocked. The word that would best describe Wes in that moment would probably have been weary. He looked weary. Henry cautiously sat down next to him and cleared his throat. "So… you're gay then?"

Wes didn't move.

"That… that's cool," Henry said, cringing as he awkwardly patted him on the back. "Explains a lot actually. Like why you will never go to strip clubs with me. Here I thought you were just too good for that."

"Do you hate me?" Wes said quietly, still staring intently at the floor.

"Uh, no? Why would I hate you?" Henry asked. "Little pissed you didn't tell me about this whole thing, but I definitely don't_ hate_ you."

"You sure?" Wes asked.

"Wesley, you've been my best friend for over a decade, do you honestly think that you getting a boyfriend would reverse all of that?" Henry asked. "Why would you even think that? Did I do something really homophobic that I'm forgetting about? I mean, I have gay family members."

Wes looked up. "Wait, you guys still talk to that uncle?"

'Uncle Eric?" Henry was completely bewildered. "Uh, yes?"

"Really? How come he's never at any of your little party things?"

Henry frowned. "He lives in Switzerland, and he and his partner have a new baby. It's not like they're going to fly out for every one of our get-togethers. You didn't you really think we excommunicated him, did you?"

"Well nobody tells me anything!" Wes exclaimed, throwing his hands up. "You all just expect me to know stuff. Every once in a while, someone will throw out something about how your aunt Serena was once framed for murder by Georgina Sparks, who now regularly shows up at your house for dinner, or they'll casually mention that time your grandpa died _twice_. You're all insane and expect us outsiders to understand your mom used to be a princess and that your uncle Nate has slept with every woman in the room and a ton of other weird stuff. It's just not fair."

Henry laughed. "Sorry about that. I guess you just get desensitized after a while. Read classic Gossip Girl; it'll help you understand."

"So you're not... weirded out or anything?" Wes asked shyly.

"Of course not," Henry assured him. "To be honest, I'm just glad you're finally getting some action. I was starting to worry you were just a prude and you were going to die a virgin."

Wes smiled. "Well, do you think your parents will care?"

"No," Henry answered firmly. "Definitely not. Not because they'll be able to overcome their prejudices because they love you, but because they really don't care who you're into. Again, read classic Gossip Girl. I'm pretty sure they and all of their friends have lost the ability to judge people for their sexual preferences. Like really. They were pretty weird back in the day."

Wes looked relieved, although mildly disturbed.

"Do you think _your_ parents will care?" Henry asked.

Wes stared at him. "You've met my parents."

"You're right, I probably wouldn't tell them."

"Yeah. I'll hold off on that one."

Henry paused. "One question, though. Why did you kiss Sloane?"

"I did _what?_" Wes seemed confused. "When the hell did I kiss Sloane?"

"At her party," Henry supplied. "Remember?'

"No? I remember very, very little after my third beer."

"Well you drank a lot more than three beers," Henry added.

"I figured," Wes agreed. "I do remember the next day, and let me tell you, it was not fun. But anyways, you can't really judge my actions when I was that drunk. I could've just as easily kissed _you_; and believe me, being gay does not change the fact that I would much rather date an old, smelly boot."

"Ouch," Henry said sarcastically. "It's just… Wow. I completely thought you were dating her."

"Sloane? No way," Wes said quickly. "First of all, she's a girl. Secondly, she's been really understanding about this whole thing, but she kind of scares me. Sloane is _really_ good at reading people, like I started dating her brother and she immediately just _knew_. Maybe it's the twin telepathy or something, but it freaked me out."

Henry hesitated. "That night… after I dragged you home, you told me you were in love."

Wes froze. "Oh, d-did I?"

"Yes. So are you?" Henry asked.

Wes flopped back onto his bed and shut his eyes. "Oh I don't know. Maybe. I guess I've been too busy panicking to really consider it. Well that's a lie; I've been considering it a lot, but, you know, I've never been in love before. I just… I like him a whole lot. So much that sometimes it kind of hurts and I forget how to breathe and speak and exist. It's all so complicated and confusing and I can't seem to think straight anymore."

"I'd be inclined to believe you were never thinking straight about Declan."

Wes laughed. "I am way too tired to think about this now."

Henry stood up. "Yeah; I get that. It's been an absurdly long day. I'll see you in the morning, I guess."

He was walking out when Wes sat back up. "Hey Henry?"

He turned around. "What?"

"Thanks."

"For what?"

"For being so… _nice_ about all this. You have no idea how freaked out I've been."

Henry grinned. "Believe me, everyone you've come in contact with in the last two months knows how freaked out you've been; you haven't exactly been discrete. I'm just glad you'll be back to normal now. I've missed my best friend."


	14. Chapter 14

Wes awoke to find Henry and his parents waiting for him in the kitchen.

"Good morning?" he said uncomfortably. They were staring at him. It was getting really weird.

Suddenly, Blair leapt out of her chair and wrapped him in a strangling embrace. "Oh my god, you have no _idea_ how worried we were."

"Huh?" Wes managed.

"They read about the gay thing on Gossip Girl," Henry explained sheepishly. "_Apparently_ it came as a huge relief because they'd misinterpreted your strange behavior to mean that you were hooked on drugs. Go figure."

"Drugs?" Wes asked incredulously.

"You were acting so cagey and distant," Blair explained, finally releasing him.

"We were sure those were signs of some kind of addiction," Chuck agreed. "We were considering staging an intervention."

"I felt certain you were doing heroin," Blair said. "Thank _god_ you're actually just doing that Beaumont kid."

Henry choked on his juice. "Jesus Mom! Why would you say that?"

"It's true," Chuck offered with a shrug.

Wes laughed nervously. "Well I'm not on drugs… I'm, uh, glad you guys understand."

"Of course we do," Blair assured him. "This doesn't change anything between you and our family."

"We even picked up a flag to show our support." Chuck held up a small rainbow striped flag.

"Oh… That's great," Wes responded.

"You know I've read Classic Gossip Girl; I know for a fact you two used to be cool," Henry lamented. "What the hell happened?"

Blair raised an eyebrow. "You two happened."

"It's a little difficult to lead an exciting life with a kid at home," Chuck explained. He looked over at Wes. "And a second kid who's not yours but sure does end up at your house a lot."

"Not that we don't love you," Blair added. "Because we do."

"I know," Wes said.

Henry looked up. "Oh Wesley, by the way, we're going to that bar at the Palace."

"Wait why?" Wes asked.

"Does there need to be a reason?" Henry responded with a shrug.

* * *

Of course, there was a reason. There was_ always_ a reason with Henry. Wes probably should have been tipped off when he and Henry were the only ones in the bar, but he didn't really connect the dots until he saw the people sitting at a bar table. Of course.

Wes turned to leave, but Henry grabbed his shoulders. "Sorry about this. We rented out the bar; you know, Dad owns the place, and Paige threatened to _shiv_ me if I didn't bring you to, uh, 'talk it out'. Besides, you've got some explaining to do."

"Why?" Wes whined. "Haven't I been through enough?"

"No," Paige answered firmly. "Now sit the fuck down."

Wes sat the fuck down.

"Alright then. These are people who you have known for a very long time." Paige gestured around the table at the unamused faces of Laurel, Teddy, and Henry. "You owe us an explanation."

"What about Sloane and Declan?" Wes asked. "I don't know _them_ very well."

Henry snorted. "Oh I saw you two in that spare bedroom yesterday. Clearly you know Declan pretty well."

"And Sloane was the one who forced Declan to come," Paige finished. "Now, you two are together then?"

Wes glanced at Declan. "Yeah."

"And you're both gay, then?"

Wes nodded.

"Well you all knew about Dec already, though," Sloane put in.

Teddy raised an eyebrow. "Uh, no we didn't…"

Sloane turned to her brother in confusion. "Didn't you mention that?"

"I _thought _I did." Declan looked completely bewildered. "It never really came up in conversation, but I'm almost sure I mentioned it in passing."

"I don't think any of us were ever informed," Teddy repeated.

"Well shit," Declan said. "I guess it's because we move so much."

"When did you come out; was that Phoenix or San Diego?" Sloane asked.

Declan thought for a moment. "I know Mom and James had already split up, but I can't remember if Steve was already around."

"Nah, it was before Steve," Sloane concluded. "So we were still in Phoenix then."

"Right," Declan said. He turned back to the group. "But honestly, how did nobody notice? I mean, I'm so fucking gay."

"Hella gay," Sloane agreed. "We even go to the parades and all that shit."

Laurel held up her hands. "Okay we get it, you're super gay and forgot to tell us. But what about that jerk?"

"Me?" Wes asked after a moment.

"Yes you," Laurel said, seething. "I don't suppose that it just slipped your mind to mention your homosexual tendencies to me and all of your friends, huh?"

"Look I'm really sorry I lied to all of you," Wes said quietly. "I didn't mean to-"

"_All _of you?" Laurel repeated. "You asshole, what about me?"

Wes fell silent.

"Two fucking years," Laurel said. "We dated for two years, Wes. I really liked you. And now I'm finding out none of it meant anything to you. How do you think that feels?"

"Bad…" Wes mumbled.

"Fucking right it feels 'bad'," Laurel sputtered. "I suppose this is why you broke up with me so suddenly."

"I was freaking out," Wes said, looking down. "The way you looked at me… I just couldn't do that to you anymore."

"Why did you do it to me in the first place?" she asked tearfully. "When we were thirteen and asked me out; you must have known you'd never be interested in me. Why'd you do it?"

Wes sighed. "I don't know. At first I was trying to prove to everyone I could have a girlfriend… or I guess maybe I was just trying to prove it to myself, I don't know. It was stupid."

"It was cruel and selfish," Laurel responded. "Never mind being my boyfriend, I thought we were _friends_."

"I'm a really sucky friend," Wes said softly. "I really am. And I'm sorry I dragged you into my issues. I was upset. And confused. And really fucking scared. But I'm still sorry."

"You should be," Paige cut in.

"Stay out of it," Henry warned her. "Not your battle, Paige."

Laurel closed her eyes. "Just… Please assure me I didn't _turn_ you gay, right?"

"Definitely not," Wes said quickly. "You're the most beautiful girl I know, inside and out. I swear. And if I had to pick a girl, it would totally be you… I'm just not really into the whole female thing you've got going on here."

"Really?" Laurel asked.

"Yeah," Wes said. "You're the nicest person I know and you're really pretty. Like, you've got really soft hair and very smooth skin and I've been dragged to enough strip clubs to know that, uh, objectively speaking your boobs are great. I'm sure the average, heterosexual male would find you quite attractive."

"Gee buddy, you always knew how to give compliments," Paige said sarcastically.

"I thought it was sweet," Laurel said. "With time, I might even forgive you."

"Oh thank god that's over," Sloane said, waving down the bartender. "Could I get a bacon cheeseburger?"


	15. Chapter 15

Winter hit Manhattan like a truck. One day it was fifty degrees and sunny and the next there was half a foot of snow on the ground. Despite the frigid temperatures and the icy sludge that seemed to cover every curb, Laurel loved winter more than anything. With the first term of school over and the holidays right around the corner, it really did seem to be 'the most wonderful time of the year'.

Blair Waldorf organized and hosted a massive Christmas party unfailingly every Christmas Eve. Party was kind of an understatement; it was really more of a formal ball, rivaled only in grandeur by the Bass Industry annual charity gala. Laurel had no idea how Blair did it; somehow between running Waldorf Design _and_ being on the board of Bass Industries she still managed to plan at least three huge events every year. Laurel always looked forward to the Christmas party, despite the fact that she was Jewish and didn't even celebrate Christmas. She did like dressing up, though. Very much.

Laurel's parent had had given her the cutest Dolce and Gabbana shift for Hanukah. Women mostly opted for long, dark dresses at this type of event, but she really thought she looked better in-

"Laurel!" Paige grabbed her arm, interrupting her train of thought.

She blinked. "Hmm?"

"You nearly walked into the road," Paige said, gesturing incredulously at the busy intersection in front of them.

"Oh," Laurel laughed. "Whoops."

"If you don't start paying attention, you're going to get yourself killed," Paige told her. "Don't walk and daydream."

"I'm not doing it on purpose," Laurel protested.

"Whatever," Paige sighed, glancing down at her phone. "What are you guys doing for Hanukah?"

"Well the last night is the same day as the Bass party, so we're not really doing anything," Laurel said. "Oh wait except we're going to our house in Cabo for, like, five days. We leave the twenty sixth."

"Sounds fun," Paige offered. "Me and my parents are visiting my grandparents in LA."

Laurel hopped delicately over a puddle. "You and your parents? As in… _not_ Teddy?"

"Yeah, believe it or not the Holbrook's are staying in the city," Paige said. "I'm a little worried my mom and dad will get separation anxiety."

"And you?" Laurel asked.

"Will I get separation anxiety?" Paige asked incredulously. "No; why would I? We'll be gone for like a week and Teddy's annoying anyways."

Laurel raised an eyebrow.

"I don't know what you're trying to insinuate," Paige sputtered, looking offended.

"All I'm saying is-"

"Laurel!" Paige interrupted her, grabbing a handful of her jacket. "You're walking into the road again."

She looked up to see she was about two feet from the stream of New York traffic rushing by. Oops.

* * *

Blair Waldorf was always in a tizzy the few weeks before Christmas. Henry found it was best to just kind of avoid her. Planning the annual party was always difficult, especially because Blair was determined to do everything herself; she insisted hiring a party planner to do the work was tasteless. Henry's mother probably would have worked herself into the ground if Aunt Serena wasn't always hovering around her with coffee and a positive attitude to keep things under control. His dad mostly just looked on and told Blair how attractive he thought she was when she organized things, and she'd respond by yelling at him to stop standing around. They had a lot of angry sex around Christmas. It was absolutely horrifying.

And on top of that, all Henry's friends and family members and essentially every other person Henry knew always seemed to be in his apartment. It was a pretty damn big apartment, but the Bass family social circle was even bigger, so it was getting pretty crowded. Usually he just hung around with Wes, but nowadays he was always out with Declan doing lame date stuff. A week before they'd gone _bowling_; Henry had nearly vomited from the sheer dorkiness when he found out. Henry couldn't help but wonder what classless move they'd pull next: Weird nicknames? Matching _sweaters_? It was impossible to tell exactly how cliché this relationship could become.

"Hey do you wanna go do something?" Sloane asked Henry one boring evening a few days before the party. He'd started spending a lot of time with Sloane, who, like her brother and Henry's relatives, never seemed to be in her own house.

Henry briefly considered. "Maybe there's something fun for you to do in your own damn apartment."

She snorted. "Unless you think spending time with my mother and her twenty five year old boyfriend sounds fun, there is in fact nothing at my home for me."

"Should have gone with your brother, then."

Sloane raised an eyebrow. "I think we can both agree that ice skating is never, ever a good choice of activity. C'mon; I'm super bored and we're going out, preferably to do something unhealthy, illegal, and/or immoral."

"Fine," Henry sighed, sitting up. "What did you have in mind?"

She shrugged. "Well first I was thinking we hit up that nightclub, Poison Apple, but then I figured it's gonna be packed and also it's kind of cliché. So how about instead we just barhop in Lower Manhattan."

"I know a couple good places," Henry said, nodding in approval. "Plus we could walk."

"Could we stop by my place first?" Sloane asked. "Sweatpants aren't the best for clubbing."

"Yeah sure," Henry agreed, pulling on a jacket. "I'll text my driver."

Fifteen minutes later they were in front of the Beaumont's apartment building. Henry looked out the window and turned to their chauffer, Steven. "Meet us back here in like ten minutes okay?"

"Oh… you're coming in with me?" Sloane asked.

Henry cocked his head. "Um yeah? Did you want me to wait in the car?"

"No, it's just that…" She shook her head. "Never mind, come with me."

They walked silently into the building and into the elevator, where Sloane instructed the elevator operator to take them to the twenty third floor. After a moment, there was a soft ding and the door slid open to reveal the Beaumont's apartment.

A voice echoed from the kitchen. "Darling, you're home!"

Suddenly, Sloane's reluctance to let Henry into her house made sense, because standing in front of him in a floral caftan was the aspect of her life Sloane had been so carefully hiding from all her friends, someone Henry had heard a lot about but never seen face to face. Cecelia Beaumont. Sloane and Declan's mother.

"Hello mom," Sloane said, eyes on the ground.

"Oh and you've brought a friend over," Delia said with a smile. "Why doesn't he come in and meet George? Your friend will stay for dinner, won't he?"

"No," Sloane said quickly. "We're leaving in a second. I just came to change my clothes."

The smile remained frozen on Delia's face. "You're leaving your poor mother all alone right before Christmas? Well, then. I suppose it's to be expected of you and your brother to abandon-"

"I'm not here to argue with you," Sloane said.

Delia's eyes flashed to Henry and then back to her daughter. "Could we talk about this in the kitchen?"

"I don't see why-" she began.

"_Sloane_," her mother said firmly, leading her into the kitchen.

The door swung shut behind them, but it did little to muffle the voices. Henry couldn't help but listen to the conversation.

"I'm just here to put on different clothes and leave, okay?" Sloane's voice said.

"Of course you are," Delia's voice hissed. "No time to spend with your poor lonely mother during the holidays."

He heard a scoff. "No time to spend with you? You're away half the time with your stupid boyfriend."

"I think it's unacceptable to talk to your mother in this manner," a male voice said.

"Oh stay out of it, George," Sloane snapped. "Don't try and parent me; I've only known you for a month. I was speaking with my mother."

"Do you hear how she abuses me?" Delia said. "I don't know how I manage to raise such ungrateful children."

"You hardly raised us at all," Sloane's grumbled.

"Oh don't play that card again," Celia lamented. "Don't try and make me out as the bad guy because you and your brother are never happy."

"Gee I wonder why we're never happy," Sloane shot back. "Maybe it's the never ending flow of step fathers."

"Now we both know it's hardly_ my_ fault I keep finding the wrong sort of man. I'm really just the victim here."

"Yeah because you tried _so_ hard to make it work with all of them," Sloane said sarcastically.

"Oh you little bitch," Celia said, her voice dripping with animosity. "You just had to come in here and taint the lovely evening George and I were having, didn't you? I've done nothing to deserve this."

"You started this!" Sloane shouted.

Henry heard a chuckle. "Now don't get hysterical. You're so _sensitive_, darling."

"I'm not sensitive, I just-"

"Just go," Delia interrupted. "The night is already ruined; I hope you're happy."

A door slammed audibly, and it was followed by a long, uncomfortable silence, in which Henry examined the pattern on his scarf and prayed to every god out there that Sloane's mother didn't come in and try to talk to him. After a few moments, he heard footsteps in the kitchen again.

"You look like a slut," Delia commented.

"Thanks that's just what I was going for."

Sloane stormed somewhat suddenly through the kitchen door. She'd changed into a short black dress and fishnets, and her expression was absolutely livid. Without looking at him, she grabbed Henry's sleeve and yanked him roughly into the elevator. The silence on the way down was suffocating; Henry could almost feel the tension in the air.

Henry coughed. "So, um, what do you want to do?"

"Take a guess," Sloane snapped.

"Alcohol?"

"Bingo"

* * *

It was Sloane who'd insisted they climb up to the roof, and everything sounds like a good idea when you're drunk at two thirty in the morning. She'd stolen a bottle of scotch from behind the bar and they were passing it back and forth in silence as they watched the Manhattan skyline. Henry had to hand it to Sloane; she was hardcore as fuck. When it came to a night out, Sloane knew how to do it right; she put Wes to shame (though arguably anyone put Wes to shame). He had to remember to bring her along the next time he went out.

"I hate my family," Sloane said plainly, interrupting the silence. "And not in a teenage angst way either. I honestly hate it."

"Yeah I could tell," Henry said with a smirk. "Your mother wasn't exactly throwing compliments at you earlier."

She scoffed. "You're lucky she wasn't throwing objects at me. She does that sometimes when it gets heated."

"Seriously?" Henry asked. "That… that sucks."

"Hell yeah it sucks," she agreed passing him the bottle. "I told you: my family is fucked up."

"Least you've got your brother," Henry pointed out.

"Yeah, but it's not like Dec stands up to her. He kind of just sits down and takes it. It's really pathetic. He just lets Mom say whatever she wants and never does anything."

"Sorry?" Henry offered.

Sloane snorted. "Wow I could really feel the sincerity in that comment."

"I don't know what to say," Henry said, holding up his hands. "It's late and I'm drunk; if you want a genuine response, now is not the time to talk through your issues. If you really want to open up, talk to Laurel. She's great with all that mushy stuff."

"I don't want 'mushy stuff'." Sloane took a long sip of scotch. "And this is as open as I get. Not like all the way open, just like a slightly cracked door. With like wind and shit."

Henry turned to look at her. "I have no idea what the fuck you're talking about."

"Me neither," she said, laughing so hard she toppled over onto Henry.

Henry looked out at the skyline; all lit up against the night sky. "Looks good."

"Yeah." She was leaning against his shoulder. "Damn New York. You fine."

Henry laughed, which made Sloane start up again. It wasn't even that good a joke and they both knew it. But everything is funny when you're drunk.


End file.
